The traffic signal knocked down Tuesday by high winds on West Loop 250 at the Interstate 20 north service road is scheduled to be replaced Friday morning, a Texas Department of Transportation.
“We apologize for any disruptions caused by this unforeseen damage to our traffic signal,” Odessa interim District Engineer Lauren Garduno stated in the press release. “We realize unexpected changes to traffic patterns can wreak havoc on commute times for people getting to work or taking kids to school. We appreciate everyone’s patience the past couple of days as we’ve worked to address the problem.”
Motorists are asked to avoid the intersection during the day, if possible, to allow for crews to work safely, the press release stated.
“I am very proud of my team,” Garduno stated in the press release. “Finding a replacement pole and scheduling work in less than 48 hours of the signal being knocked down is an impressive feat. You can’t go to a big box retailer and buy a pole like this off the shelf. If we hadn’t located one, ordering one would have literally taken months to be fabricated.”
Willis Electric, a contractor from Abilene that does a lot of projects in the Odessa District, is pulling a crew off another job and will stand up the new signal pole Friday morning.
Odessa district personnel will then tie in operational and timing mechanisms to hopefully return the intersection to normal operations the same day.
