A federally funded project along Bosque Boulevard will enhance five traffic signals along the corridor with the hope of improving safety through structural interventions.
The project will improve signals along Bosque at the Wooded Acres Drive, Lake Air Drive, New Road, 39th/Sunset Street and 34th Street intersections. Signals lacking the infrastructure for protected left turns will be upgraded, and the project will add pedestrian features compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Waco City Council last week approved a $197,000 contract with Maldonado-Burkett LLP to design improvement plans. The city is only responsible for design and administrative costs, with the Texas Department of Transportation responsible for construction, Waco Public Works Director Amy Burlarley-Hyland said.
The upgrades will be funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s $3 billion Highway Safety Improvement Program, part of the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Waco received a grant from TxDOT’s $329 million 2023 improvement program allotment.
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Burlarley-Hyland said projects are chosen based on the cost and need for upgrades. Projects are also judged on three years of correctable crash history, taking note of crashes that could have been prevented with structural solutions, she said.
Between 2019 and 2021 the project area had four serious injury crashes and 23 minor injury crashes, making it eligible for federal funding, Burlarley-Hyland said. Public works analyzes accident report data from TxDOT to identify areas with higher than expected accident history, she said.
“Improving signals can reduce the number of crashes up to 33% over the 10-year lifespan of the project,” she said. “While some crashes can be at the fault of the driver, improving signals will reduce the number of correctable crashes.”
Intersections along Bosque Boulevard will get protected left turn signals and flashing yellow arrows. Newer computer controllers, underground conduits and electrical systems will be required for the upgrades, and new cameras will monitor and collect data, improving progression through the intersections, Burlarley-Hyland said.
At intersections now lacking left turn signals, longer signal poles will be added to accommodate protected green arrow and flashing yellow signals, Burlarley-Hyland said. Traffic signals at 39th/Sunset Street and 34th Street, installed in 1980 and lacking left turn signals, will be totally replaced.
“Flashing yellow arrows are now required at left turn lanes per the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices … as an improved safety measure, and are less confusing compared to the existing ‘yield on green ball’ signals,” she said.
The intersections will also be fitted with two perpendicular curb ramps in either direction, pedestrian countdown signals and audible signals to meet new standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Burlarley-Hyland said.
The total project is expected to cost some $1.27 million, covered by federal funds, and TxDOT will let the project in August 2026.
WATCH NOW: Crosswalks along the newly built section of I-35 in Waco include locator tones — beeping sounds that give visually impaired people an idea of where the crosswalk is — as well as designated walk buttons that vibrate when it is safe to cross, which people can hold onto while waiting if they are unable to see the visual signals or hear the vocal signals giving crossing directions.
