Traffic lights are now operating at Griffith and Beaty streets.

The N.C. Department of Transportation has turned on traffic signals at the intersection of Sloan, Beaty and Griffith streets. For now, the lights will operate on a timer, Davidson public works director Doug Wright said Wednesday.

The signal had been installed in late July and was supposed to have been operational by mid-August. But it was held up by a delay in striping the stop lines and lanes at the intersection, Mr. Wright said.

The road is scheduled to be resurfaced over the next couple of months, with the work tentatively finishing up around Nov. 22, just before Thanksgiving, Mr. Wright said. As part of the project, sensors will be installed in the road bed that will allow the lights to change in response to traffic.

Mr. Wright said he had hoped that full operation of the signals could be delayed until after the resurfacing project. But the road and the signal are controlled by the DOT, which had the final say.

The intersection has no walk lights for the pedestrian crossings, though that could be added in the future, Mr. Wright said.

The light will help control traffic at one of Griffith Street’s busiest intersections, especially as rush hour commuters head to and from the Ingersoll-Rand plant off Beaty Street.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Sept. 11, 2008, “Operation of Griffith Street traffic light delayed.”