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MAMARONECK, N.Y. - A New York State project will replace the traffic lights at the three-way intersection of Boston Post Road and Fenimore Road, which is the first of 10 intersections in Westchester, Putnam and Dutches Counties to receive the upgrade over the next two years.
The existing traffic lights, which hang from span wires over the street, will be replaced by three "rigid mast arms," which will stand at the edge of the curb and extend out into the street with traffic lights, said a New York State Department of Transportation inspector supervising construction Monday.
"These traffic arms, they're rigid, they won't move," said the same inspector, who cited span wire traffic lights swaying in heavy wind as the impetus for this upgrade. "That's the main improvement."
Verde Electric, based in Mount Vernon, will create three new traffic control boxes, where the rigid mast arms will stand, with electrical boxes for each. All pipes and wires connecting the three electrical boxes will run underground, but the inspector supervising the site along Harbor Island said they won't have to shut down the street to do so.
"For construction on each one of these, we try to minimize traffic interruption," said the inspector, who added they will lay wire running across the road in sections at a time, instead of doing it all at once and closing the street for a short period of time.
The existing pedestrian walk signs will also be replaced with new walkway signs, which will be separate from the mast arms.
The lights to be installed on the Harbor Island side of Boston Post Road will control traffic coming off of Fenimore Road and northbound traffic, while the third light in front of La Piccola Casa will control southbound traffic along Boston Post Road.
The Traffic Signal Replacement project will also upgrade traffic lights in five other Westchester towns, which includes two taffic lights in Pelham - the southern-most point of the 10-site project. The northern-most point will be Pine Plains in Dutches County.
Verde Electric's excavation crew will begin work in Harrison once finished preparing the Mamaroneck site for their wiring crew, who will install the mast arms, traffic lights and pedestrian walk signs.
A similar-sized traffic signal replacement project is in the bidding process and may overlap the one currently in progress, the state inspector said.
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