FARRAGUT, Tenn — Crews in Farragut are working to upgrade several traffic lights, helping improve the flow of traffic by using systems in place in Knoxville and other spots across Knox County.
Farragut Mayor Ron Williams said the town received a $7 million grant to upgrade the redlight system, and they plan to upgrade all 26 traffic lights on the road starting from Town Hall
"They'll tap in a new program for that light. When they see a traffic backup, they'll send it right to that control box. And if it's the whole Kingston Pike corridor, then they'll hit 'domino,' and it will take care of all the lights so that you can flush the system to help move the traffic," said Williams.
Part of the upgrades includes installing cameras on the traffic lights, which help collect data about the flow of traffic in real-time.
"If we have something that happens on the interstate, a lot of times traffic will divert to Kingston Pike. So, we should be able to react a lot quicker then," said Darry Smith, the town engineer of Farragut. "There are a few local dollars, I think we've budgeted about $100,000 for ADA compliance. But that's about it."
Town leaders are hoping to complete the upgrades by next summer. Williams said they also plan to build new exit lanes and widen existing lanes as part of the upgrades.
"I'm glad that there's a plan in place to kind of make things flow faster," said Claire Napier, who drives regularly through the area.