Newberg Graphic Online

5th Street repairs cause delays for Dundee drivers

Public works — Temporary sensors increase rush hour wait for drivers on Highway 99W

• By: David Sale  
• Published: 9/11/2009 3:31:41 PM

Photo By: Laurent BonczijkWork continues
Temporary motion sensors that control the signal have been installed at Fifth Street and Highway 99W while contractors complete work on the busy intersection.

DUNDEE — As work continues on the Fifth Street/Highway 99W intersection, residents are reporting longer wait time at the city’s lone traffic signal.

The delays are not due to the repair work itself, but to the new sensors and signal timing put in place, according to Oregon Department of Transportation officials.

“We installed motion sensors a week ago, which sends signals to the control box,” said Paul Crowe, a traffic signal specialist with the department.

Standard traffic sensors consist of coils of wire embedded in the pavement. When an electric current is passed through them, they act as electromagnets, registering the presence of vehicles above them.

However, “when you repave through an intersection, the coils usually get ground up and recycled with the old asphalt,” Crowe explained. “We usually wait until the final paving is done, then make a saw cut to replace them.”

While the signals could be run using a simple timer, temporary motion sensors were installed “because the timing was a concern and we wanted to ensure access for school traffic,” said ODOT Region 2 spokesman Adam Torgerson.

Along with the change in sensors, Crowe said he had adjusted the signal timing to favor traffic entering and leaving Dundee Elementary School during the morning and evening.

“It’s for about 40 minutes each period, to sync up with the buses entering and leaving — so during the morning and evening, traffic on Fifth Street gets a much bigger piece of the pie,” he said. “It’s not as good as it could be — through traffic on the highway is still controlled by a timer, which has extended the wait a bit.”

The intersection will be returned to its normal timing at the conclusion of the project, Torgerson said.

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