Here's When You Can Expect Traffic Lights On US 50 Back To Normal

Repaving of U.S. 50 has required a change in the way traffic signals operate this summer.

U.S. 50 in Greendale. Photo by Mike Perleberg, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Dearborn County, Ind.) - Sometimes the universe conspires against you and you hit a red light at every single intersection on your way to work, school, practice, or an important meeting you are already running behind for.

But sometimes it isn’t the universe. It’s just the way the timing of the lights was been set.

When will the timing of traffic signals on U.S. 50 in Dearborn County return to normal? That’s what a lot of local motorists have been annoyed with in recent weeks as timing of the red lights from Greendale to Aurora has been changed.

The change in the traffic signals is part of the repaving project in Dearborn County.

“Signal loops were removed in late spring/early summer as part of pavement preparation operations for the new asphalt surface,” says Indiana Department of Transportation spokesperson Natalie Garrett.

A signal loop is a device embedded in the pavement which detects when a vehicle passes over it. They are commonly used to determine timing and activation of traffic lights to help traffic flow more efficiently at intersections. 

As Garrett explains, reinstallation of those signal loops will start once new lane striping has been completed. With all or most of the new pavement in place, crews began marking for the new striping this week

“The fainter ‘ghost’ lines currently being applied will be used as a guide for the final marking,” says Garrett.

But the traffic lights won’t be fully back to normal for a while longer. The striping will take four to six weeks to complete, depending on weather.  

INDOT’s contractor is expected to complete the entire project by October 29. The resurfacing project began last year, putting down new pavement from State Road 56 to the Indiana-Ohio state line.