CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
Sometimes it seems as though when you are driving around town, you never hit a traffic signal when the light is green.
At one time, City traffic engineers said there was good reason for that at intersections like Everhart and SPID, but now the City and the Texas Department of Transportation are working to synchronize the traffic signals along Everhart.
The City said it has gotten a lot of calls from residents upset about the traffic delays at the Everhart intersection, but until lately, it wasn't able to do anything to help those callers.
Over the past few years, there seems to be more and more traffic piling up along Everhart. Right now, a lot of drivers are using the street as a way to avoid the Staples Street construction. Also, the State never finished its ramp-reversal work, and that means that traffic backs up onto the freeway from the Everhart light because of the number of drivers now using the street.
TxDOT did change the light sequencing at the intersection about a year ago. That was an effort to try and unclog the backed up traffic to the freeway; a plan that didn't include synchronizing the state traffic lights here with those city-run lights up and down Everhart.
The result: a pile of traffic in all directions.
But now, thanks to a new district engineer for the Corpus Christi area, a new spirit of cooperation promises some changes at this intersection.
"We're coordinating with TxDOT to make sure the corridor of Everhart is synchronized or coordinated with the freeway signal over at SH 358, SPID, that way we'll get a better flow of traffic throughout the whole corridor of Everhart. Not just a segment from Holly to SPID. Maybe even from Holly to Staples."
Now that would be great news for drivers if the State and City could get traffic to run from Holly to Staples without having to stop, but that's exactly what they're trying to do.
Our City traffic engineer is also hopeful that the ramp reversals at Weber, Everhart and Staples will get done soon. He said that probably wouldn't happen this year, but the plans are still in the works for that to happen.
