Traffic light synchronization projected expected to start in November 2022

Long wait times at some traffic lights in the valley have some valley residents asking for improvements. The Coachella Valley Association of Governments has a sync plan that they say will help traffic flow.

Tom Kirks says, "We're doing three long streets, highway 111, Washington and Ramon, through nine cities of the Coachella Valley and through county unincorporated area, and through tribal areas". 

Since March 2021 there was a 21.2 million dollar contract for this project and we are now in phase one.

Kirk was explaining where the 21.2 million came from and how long it could take for a project like this will take. He says, "You're dealing with Caltrans and federal and state dollars. So yeah, we've had a contract for a year or two. But we're going through eight cities on highway 111 and yes, We're doing work at 192 intersections. And so people that are watching this may have seen our trucks, they'll say Crosstown electric and other trucks along these intersections. And they're running fiber-optic under the intersections. They're doing work throughout the Coachella Valley. In my opinion, they're doing work incredibly fast, incredibly efficient. And frankly, I wouldn't want to be out there at 120 12 degrees all day long on asphalt doing this work, and they're doing a great job for us".

The area CVAG is covering:

A long-term resident of cathedral city, Alyssa says, "Whenever I'm driving down 111 I typically will be driving, and then the light will be green and then the next light you'll get to just red".

The photo below shows how they are not synced yet but out of 192 stop lights,139 of them have been rewired for phase 1. Phase 1 Is Highway 111, Ramon, and Washington.

Scott Nelson, a resident of la Quinta was sharing his experience driving down Highway 11 and Washington Street. Nelson said
Well, you can wait here for about five minutes. And if you miss it, it could be longer".

Kirk says "This is one of the biggest projects in the nation. And it's going fast. And well. And under budget". The goal is for all of the valley's traffic signals to be synced as shown in the photo below.

Phase 2 consists of: