Construction got under way Wednesday on the installation of a long-awaited temporary traffic signal at the intersection of Duplex Road and Port Royal Road.
After a year-long process of appraisals and negotiations with multiple property owners, the City recently acquired property access, with TDOT approval, needed to construct the signal, which is critical to public safety along Duplex Road.
Construction of the temporary traffic light will involve erecting wooden poles along the corners of the intersection and stringing wires for temporary traffic signals across the roadway, which is expected to take about four days, Public Works Director Jeff Foster said. It will be replaced by a permanent signal during the upcoming widening of Duplex Road.
The signal installation will be done primarily between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Thursday, Dec. 1, and again during the same daytime work hours Monday, Dec. 5, and Tuesday, Dec. 6. Flaggers will be directing traffic, which will be down to one lane at certain times of day. Please use caution in this area and avoid the intersection if possible during these four days of construction.
Duplex Road Widening Update
This year, the Duplex widening construction officially went into TDOT’s three-year work plan:
On Sept. 15, 2016, when TDOT Commissioner John Schroer spoke at the Transportation Summit in Franklin, he noted the timeline for new state road construction generally takes about 10 years. This year, 2016, made 10 years that the City of Spring Hill has been working toward this project, and the City is on track to complete the right-of-way purchases before the end of 2016, and scheduled to take about 18 months to 2 years for construction.
The City’s top priority in pursuing right-of-way has been to first secure the land needed to install temporary traffic signals at any of four key intersections along Duplex Road, including Port Royal Road, Miles Johnson Parkway, Commonwealth Drive and Buckner Lane. Temporary signals will be installed at these intersections as the property is acquired.
