Tyler To Install Traffic Signal At Old Jacksonville & Capital

(Tyler, Texas)  If there is one thing that Tyler residents complain about the most, it would definitely be about traffic.

• There are too many distracted drivers.
• There are too many traffic signals in Tyler.
• There are no bridges to make traffic flow smoother.
• There are not enough lanes to handle the capacity.

All of those are valid points. In my opinion, previous traffic engineers and 'old money' kept Tyler flat and did not allow bridges because they wanted to preserve the beauty of the Rose City. If my opinion is correct, then it comes with a cost, and Tyler is where it is today because of it.

Tyler drivers will soon be slowed down one more time thanks to the upcoming installation of a traffic signal.

The City of Tyler will install a new traffic signal on Old Jacksonville Highway.

Old Jacksonville Highway is a major north-south corridor for Tyler linking the city to Gresham, Flint, and Bullard. The stretch of road from Loop 323 to FM 346 in Flint is about to go through another major transformation and be expanded from four lanes to six.

READ MORE --> Old Jacksonville Hwy and Grande Blvd will receive an overpass

Before that happens, a new traffic signal is going to be constructed at the intersection of Old Jacksonville Highway (FM 2493) and Capital Drive.

Approved by the Tyler City Council on Wednesday, April 30th, the city entered into an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) and approved the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection.

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Capital Drive currently T's into Old Jacksonville, but it will soon be a cross intersection because the Brookshire Grocery Company is moving the entrance to its warehouse facility to line up with Capital Drive in anticipation of the upcoming road project.

The current entrance into the grocery company warehouse complex is about 900 feet north of this intersection, according to the city's press release.

Traffic in the area warrants a traffic signal

Through private funding, the city and state conducted a traffic study, resulting in the approval of installing a traffic signal at this location before the planned start of the expansion project in 2028 or later.

Construction costs are being donated

According to the City of Tyler press release,

Brookshire Grocery Company has funded engineering design services for a span wire traffic signal and donated permanent steel mast arm traffic signal poles to the City. These poles will be transferred to TxDOT for installation with its FM 2493 widening.

The total estimated construction cost for the traffic signal is $443,000, which includes the donated permanent steel mast arm traffic signal poles, which have an estimated value of $128,547. The total estimated construction cost to the City is $314,453. This project will be funded through the City's Half Cent Sales Tax fund.

No timeline has been announced for this project yet. But get ready, Tyler residents, you will have to get used to another slowdown on what was a long stretch of road.

I can live with this, but if there were some way to convince TXDOT to plan for an overpass at Loop 323 and Old Jacksonville Highway once the expansion project for Old Jacksonville Highway (FM 2493) gets underway, this would be optimal. I can only image how backed up its going to be once Old Jacksonville goes from 4 to 6 lanes. But that's a subject for antother time.

Safe travels, Tyler!