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Adaptive Traffic Signals Set To Go Live Along Route 22

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Traffic tie-ups on Route 22 may soon be a thing of the past as a new adaptive traffic signal is set to go live in just days.

The $1.8 million PennDot project covers 18 intersections along Route 22. Engineers of the project say that they looked at the most heavily congested areas and that they're going to be using this new technology to alleviate traffic woes.

"Sometimes when you're coming through here, I think the lights I think they give too much time to the side streets and not enough time to the main thoroughfare," Zack Halaut, a commuter said.

PennDOT noticed the same issue. At the end of 2013, they decided it was time to install adaptive traffic signals. They'll sync the lights from #1 Cochran in Monroeville into Murrysville for 10 miles.

"It's automatically going to be able to make the adjustments to react to the changing traffic volumes on Route 22," PennDOT District Engineer Todd Kravits said.

There's also an emergency pre-emption system in place that will allow ambulances to send signals to the lights that they need to come through. The red lights will be triggered for traffic to stop where need be.

The system is already in place and is in learning mode gathering information for the big switch over on Feb. 16.

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