Update on Highland Ave Traffic Signals

MassDOT updated David Kucharsky today about the traffic signal issues on Highland Avenue at Marlborough Road. On Tuesday, National Grid met with MassDOT’s District Electrician and Traffic Maintenance Engineer. From David: “National Grid plans to de-energize the power line that is close to the span wire cable at the signal. They will be rerouting power to area businesses through power lines across the street. This will allow MassDOT to reinstall their video detection cameras and restore full functionality to the signal as well as restore the adaptive signal operation with the other signals in the system. National Grid’s timeline is roughly two weeks to reroute the power. MassDOT’s work will follow shortly after that.”

Background: In early November, there was an electrical surge at the Pep Boys signal. High winds caused a primary power line to come in contact with the span wire, knocking out Salem’s 360-degree video detection camera. This affected the lights through the Marlborough Road intersection on Highland Avenue. This is the cause of the traffic backups on Highland Ave, which have caused traffic to back up to Willson Street and beyond during some periods.