Synchronize your watches er,

traffic lights. And get ready for some delays next week at the busy intersections

along two major highways in Fayetteville.

A long-awaited project intended

to make traffic flow more smoothly through Fayetteville is finally coming

to fruition. City officials hope to have nearly all of the city's traffic

lights coordinated by the middle of next week.

The plan has been in the works

since 1998, when a study was initially commissioned to check out the viability

of the project. The city and Fayette County have spent about $150,000

on the project, mostly through relocation of utilities and installation.

The Georgia Department of Transportation provided the equipment.

All of the traffic lights in

Fayetteville are on state highways 54, 85, 92 and 314. The only lights

in the city not included in this project are the two on Ga. Highway 92

at the southern end of town, intersecting with Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard

and Ga. Highway 85, and the light at Ga. Highway 54 and Gingercake Road.

The distance between those lights and the rest of the city made it impractical

to include them, according to city engineer Don Easterbrook.

A few traffic lights are coming

online in the next few months and have been included in this system. Just

south of Banks Road at the site of the new Walgreen's drug store, a road

has been placed connecting Hwy. 85 with Ga. Highway 314. There will be

a traffic light on each end.

Also coming soon is new signalization

at Hwy. 54 and LaFayette Avenue, in both directions on West Lanier as

well as Stonewall Avenue. This is in conjunction with the Village multiuse

development now underway next to Fayette County High School. Another light

will be installed on Hwy. 54 just west of that intersection, at the main

entrance to the Village.

City officials had planned

to switch the connections yesterday to get the system up and rolling,

but that has been delayed until Monday. There could be some delays that

day while the kinks are worked out, although workers will wait until after

the morning rush hour to make the switch, Easterbrook said. After that,

officials will monitor the system to see if the timing is working, and

adjust the timing further if necessary.

The project is being completed

several months later than was originally planned, mostly due to the logistics

of relocating various utilities, such as electric, phone and cable. The

system runs through fiber-optic cables along existing power lines, Easterbrook

said.

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