Updated: 5/7/2008 11:15:05 PM
Part of Interstate 40 shut down almost a week ago. Since then, drivers have found alternate routes downtown, including city streets.
That's why transportation engineers tweaked the timing of the traffic light at Summit Hill and Central Wednesday.
It's a city signal, but Tennessee Department of Transportation consultants adjusted it for smoother traffic flow to and from Hall of Fame Drive.
"We've increased our cycle times," traffic engineer Kevin Cole explained. Cole works for Wilbur Smith Associates. "We've given more time to Hall of Fame, more time to Magnolia, which is a key intersection to progress traffic through and get them down to Summit here."
They must balance traffic flow along Hall of Fame with the need for traffic from side streets to cross the road or turn on to Hall of Fame.
"We have several employees driving up and down the corridor at the speed limit," said Cole.
Engineers set signal cycle times based on traffic volume. New detours, like closing Fifth Avenue, change traffic patterns and require adjustments to the light timing.
Another detour starts Thursday.
Traffic from James White Parkway headed to I-40 Eastbound will no longer use a ramp through a tunnel under Hall of Fame Drive. Instead, traffic will be re-routed to stop at a Hall of Fame traffic light before entering I-40. That means tweaking the timing again.
"Once everybody gets their travel patterns established, then we can come back and look and see truly how it is operating," said Cole.
Expect tweaks for a few more weeks on Hall of Fame.
The city continues to monitor other city streets in the SmartFIX40 work area. Signal timing adjustments on those corridors are also possible.
