The Shadow
Both the town of Clifton Forge and the city of Covington are having difficulties in finding parts for antiquated stop lights. Clifton Forge proactively began working on the problem earlier this year and has adjusted the traffic pattern in the downtown area, including the intersection of Main and Jefferson in front of Clifton Forge Town Hall. The stop light cannot be repaired due to its age and will be taken down if and when it finally fails. (Josh Hagy Photo)
Both the town of Clifton Forge and the city of Covington are having difficulties in finding parts for antiquated stop lights. Clifton Forge proactively began working on the problem earlier this year and has adjusted the traffic pattern in the downtown area, including the intersection of Main and Jefferson in front of Clifton Forge Town Hall. The stop light cannot be repaired due to its age and will be taken down if and when it finally fails. (Josh Hagy Photo)
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Good parts are getting hard to find these days.
Residents of the town of Clifton Forge and the city of Covington are being forced to adapt to new traffic patterns as public officials deal with an aging infrastructure that is making repairs to traffic lights next to impossible.
“Several of our lights are very old and its nearly impossible, if not impossible to get replacement parts for them,” said Clifton Forge Town Manager Darlene Burcham in a telephone interview.
With the price of a new stoplight ringing at $120,000 or more, officials in Clifton Forge have modified the traffic pattern in the downtown area to alleviate the problem.
The modification involved a traffic signal analysis by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“I did ask VDOT over a year ago now to do a traffic signal analysis,” said Burcham. “We had them look at several signals, but not every one in town. We know that some signals are a must.”
The study excluded a traffic signal at the intersection of Main and A Streets as well as the signal at Commercial and Ridgeway, which was funded through the recently completed bridge construction project.
VDOT examined data on traffic flow in Clifton Forge and how long people wait at traffic lights and then made a recommendation to Bur-cham and Clifton Forge Town Council as to which lights “warranted signalization.”
With the information in hand, Burcham sat down with police and public works officials to prepare a recommendation for Clifton Forge Town Council.
The recommendation included a four-way stop at the intersection of Jefferson and Church Streets, as well as flashing lights at the intersection of Jefferson and Main Street. Left turns from Jefferson onto Main are now allowed, something that hasn’t happened in more than 50 years.
That light, however, is on borrowed time.
“We know that when the light in front of town hall goes, that’s it,” Burcham said. “We can’t repair it. We’ll have to replace it or do something else.”
In Covington, the traffic signal at the intersection of Main Street and Maple Avenue has been blinking since it was damaged by the super derecho that occurred more than a year ago.
“We’re reviewing whether or not we can correct the problem and keep the light or if it would be more advantageous to move to a four-way stop,” said Covington City Manager and Police Chief J.B. Broughman.
Members of Covington City Council have suggested reviving a now-defunct traffic committee to study the signal needs of the city, but no action has been taken on the matter.
In the meantime, Broughman said the age of the stoplight was creating a problem.
“It’s so old that it’s hard to find parts for it,” he said. “We’re running back into the problem of if we don’t fix that one, then the cost of a new light is really high. I think we’d be looking at pretty close to the same (price) as Clifton Forge.”
The stoplight that was removed from the intersection of Church and Jefferson Streets in Clifton Forge, as well as the light in front of town hall, was more than 50 years old.
With decades of lights in use, many feared a change in the familiar traffic pattern would lead to several accidents in downtown.
“We had a lot of people suggest that there would be a lot of accidents,” said Burcham. “What I’m hearing is that a lot of people can get through the intersection faster if there’s a stop sign.
“Before you had to wait until the signal changed because the light was on a timer and it didn’t matter if there was traffic or not,” she added.
The new traffic pattern has kept vehicles moving smoothly through Clifton Forge.
“We’ve only had one accident that was so minor that both parties left the scene and called in later to report a fender bender,” Burcham said. “I see people coming through the intersection and through town very smoothly.”
