Traffic lights installation nears completion

Roadtown, Tortola - Traffic Light Technicians associated with JoClaud Enterprises Limited have already completed over 70% of the traffic light and signals installation.

Over the weekend the team of technicians and Public Works Department personnel worked around the clock to install the poles and cross arms, as well as mount the lights and erect some of the pedestrian signals.

“The lights are a bit skewed because the technicians have to install cameras called auto-scope cameras which are the sensors for vehicles as they pass the intersection,” Traffic Light Project Coordinator in the Ministry of Communications and Works, Mr. Andrew St. Hilaire told the Department of Information and Public Relations.  “After they install the sensors they will align the lights and angle them so that they would be facing the respective roads for which they will be controlling,” Mr. St. Hilaire added.

The road work currently undertaken in the Road Town area is being done in conjunction with the traffic lights project to install sidewalks, re-align the road and in some areas, include additional turning lanes to facilitate the lights and signals. “The civil works should be completed by the first week in July, and once completed and the finishing touches are on, we can look forward to having a commissioning ceremony for the traffic lights, the Project Coordinator said.

The final steps in the installation process are for the technicians to connect electrical wires and install the control box. 

This weekend the chief technician with Siemens ITS, the parent company for JoClaud Enterprises Limited, will be in the Territory to finalise and programme the sequencing system, which controls the right-a-way for motorists.

For a more detailed update on the traffic lights installation, the public can listen to the GIS Radio Report today on ZVCR 106.9 FM at 6:15 p.m., ZBVI 780 AM at 6:35 p.m. or on ZROD 103.7 FM at 10:00 p. m.  The radio report will also air on Wednesday on ZKING 100 FM at 7:45 a.m. and on ZBVI at 8:35 a.m. 

Phase one of the Waterfront Drive Modernisation Project, once completed is expected to increase traffic flow and minimise congestion, while providing a more safe and pedestrian friendly capital, reaffirming  Government’s commitment to implementing improved traffic management systems for Road Town.