Proceed with caution - SD DOT studying traffic light on 7th Ave.

Travelers on Redfield’s 7th Ave and Main Street may want to proceed with caution beginning Monday, April 30th. That’s the day marked to begin a new phase of the study being conducted by the SD Department of Transportation to determine the fate of the traffic light at that intersection.

Beginning Monday, those traveling East and West on 7th Ave. will have a flashing orange light while those traveling on Main Street from North to South will have a flashing red light. Traffic on 7th Ave. will not need to stop at the intersection and are to proceed with caution while those on Main Street will need to wait till the roadway is clear to cross. Those wishing to use the crosswalk will need to monitor traffic as the crosswalk buttons will not work.

According to Alan Petrick Traffic Engineer with the DOT in the Aberdeen Region, “This is the next step in the study we have been conducting. We put the light into “flash” mode to do a series of studies including Gap, delay and saturation flow rate studies at peak and non-peak times. When that data is completed we will hand that as well as the results of the intersection volume study to the Aberdeen Region Engineer who will go over the report with the Road Design Engineer in Pierre to make a final decision on the fate of the light.

Right now, according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices or MUTCD, which is the law governing all traffic control devices by setting minimum standards and providing guidance, 12 hour traffic volume counts at that site in Redfield do not warrant a signal light.

“Between the time to compile the final data and create the report and then the time for the others to study it, we are looking at a possible time frame of 3 weeks before that determination,” said Petrick.

The SD Dept. of Transportation Aberdeen Region office is located on West Highway 12 in Aberdeen encompasses the counties of Beadle, Brookings, Brown, part of Buffalo, Clark, Codington, Day, Deuel, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Hyde, Kingsbury, most of McPherson, Marshall, part of Miner, Roberts and Spink. The Regional Engineer is Jeff Senst at 605-626-2244. Mailing address is PO Box 1767, Aberdeen, SD 57402-1767.

Darin Bergquist is the SD Secretary of Transportation. That phone number is 605.773.3265 and address is: SD DOT, Becker-Hansen Building, 700 E. Broadway Ave., Pierre, SD 57501