Drivers using Miami Lakes Drive may have noticed workers installing new traffic lights at the intersection of Northwest 79th Court.
The work was nearing completion in early August, with the lights installed and new street signs for Bob Graham Parkway.
The traffic lights will help courteous drivers who get cut off near the intersection by commuters destined for Bob Graham Education Center, Popular Bank, Business Park West and the Palmetto Expressway.
Miami Lakes Public Works director Omar Santos couldn’t say for sure when the lights would be working. The school year began on Aug. 15.
“The next thing would be to get the cabinet and the computer system in,” Santos said.
Traffic snarls at the intersection during the past four years prompted Miami-Dade Police Maj. Jose Gonzalez to assign officers to direct drivers and ease congestion.
Gonzalez said he was relieved that one officer will be available for other assignments.
“We can’t be there all the time, and this helps,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said a “Do not block the box” sign was installed but drivers still clogged the intersection, prompting the need for an officer to be there in the morning.
Miami-Dade County Public Works approved the project after a test, when the officer was removed and traffic flow worsened.
“We identified that it was a big problem, even for people crossing from the hotel,” Gonzalez said.
Business Park West, the busy Park Centre Shopping Center and CVS to the west may all be affected.
“It’s timed to keep traffic flowing,” Gonzalez said. “Once the light [at Northwest 79th Court] is timed, it will be the same.”
Even after the new lights are working, a police officer will be stationed on weekday mornings during the school year at Miami Lakes Drive at Northwest 77 Court, directing westbound traffic at the southbound turn lane.
Gonzalez is hoping that a planned expansion of the turn lane will happen.
“There will be a higher demand for it with the ER coming online,” Gonzalez said of the Baptist Emergency Medical Center that is being built along Northwest 77th Court at Northwest 149th Street.