A summer construction project on parts of Ralston Avenue that would move traffic control cabinets to safer locations will soon go out to contractor bid, with the city expecting traffic disruptions to be minimal.
The change coincides with the more extensive Ralston Avenue Adaptive Traffic Control Technology update. The city recently changed about 13 traffic signals on Ralston Avenue from Hiller Avenue to Christian Drive. Instead of a timed signal, many lights now use artificial intelligence to analyze real-time traffic demand in the area and change timing accordingly, so the direction with the most cars will get priority to increase efficiency. Brown said the improvements had reduced traffic times, and the intersections are operating more efficiently. The new system was put in place to reduce travel times along the Ralston Avenue corridor, which often slows down during school and commute times.
The project calls for removing two existing controller cabinets and putting new ones nearby in a safer location. The traffic cabinets hold the hardware and software systems that run the signal infrastructure for traffic control. Public Works Director Peter Brown said two cabinets are too small and don’t have the proper equipment to maintain and operate the new system. The cabinets are at the intersection of Ralston Avenue and Belmont Canyon Road and Ralston Avenue and Cipriani Boulevard and cannot be accessed by city staff without safety concerns, according to a staff report. The cabinet on Cipriani Boulevard is up on a hill near the fire station, and no maintenance truck can park there or get to it because it is at the busy intersection, Brown said. The rest of the cabinets were the proper size and required no changes.
Some work will also require trenching and electrical lines. Brown said if the city does have to close a lane for a time, it will be minor. The city expects to get the work done during the summer when school is out.
“If we do have to do any lane closures, it will be for a number of hours, not days,” Brown said. “We expect minor disruptions.”
The council approved putting out bids for at most $352,000 at its Jan. 24 meeting.
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