It's been two weeks since red light signals were activated on the southbound side of I-95, and drivers say they're not helping much.
"The feeder roads are more cramped getting onto 95 but once you're on 95, it's smoother," said Ruben Moss, who takes I-95 South to work every day, entering at Ives Dairy Road. He is not the only driver concerned about the backup of traffic on the feeder roads. Many argue that the signals at the bottom of the ramp are to blame.
"Terrible. It takes 15 minutes longer to get to work," said one driver. "They should remove them!" yells another.
But according to Department of Transportation engineer Javier Rodriguez, there are some pre-existing conditions along Ives Dairy that cause the traffic, not the new signals.
"There is an issue with the timing of the signals on Ives Dairy, which causes traffic to back up," he said.
NBCMiami noticed the same thing, as we spent a couple of mornings out in the traffic to see for ourselves. The turning lane on the Eastbound side of Ives Dairy to get onto the I-95 ramp was clear for most of the morning rush. The congestion, however, was in the middle two lanes heading East.
As for the Southbound on-ramp, traffic did back up there due to the new signals, but Rodriguez said it has gotten significantly better since the signals were activated two weeks ago. "Initially the wait time on the ramps was 8-10 minutes; now the wait time is 3-5 minutes," he said. Which proves that as drivers get used to the system, the wait time decreases.
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In an effort to ensure that the signals are doing their jobs, the DOT monitors traffic patterns 24-7. There are cameras installed at each entrance ramp where there is a signal; data is recorded and analyzed daily. They have also assigned field consultants to each entrance ramp during this transitional period to record data manually. DOT officials said even though there is a minor back-up on the ramps, that time is made up on the highway.
There are more improvement projects in the work as well. Rodriguez says the DOT is working with Miami-Dade County to better time the traffic lights on Ives Dairy and they plan to reconstruct the interchange at Ives Dairy in the near future.
For more information on the complete I-95 Express Project, visit www.95Express.com
