Lights will sync at end of construction

Q. I drive the stretch of U.S. Route 34 -- Ogden Avenue --from Route 59 in Naperville west to Route 71 in Oswego. The stop lights are totally out of sync. Unless you are at the front of the pack when a light turns green, you cannot get through two lights. Cars and trucks sit idling while one or two cars turn out from a mall. The problem has been compounded by all the new lights for the new strip mall developments west of U.S. Route 30 in Oswego.

--J. W., Wheaton

A. I drove from Route 59 to Route 71 and back between 2 and 2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. Including Route 59 and Route 71, there are 23 traffic signals.

I do see what you mean: I had to come to a full stop at 9 of the traffic signals on my westbound trip, and half of my stops were at the lights in Oswego that you mentioned.

Bruce Hucker, Operations Engineer for the Region 2, District 3 office for the Illinois Department of Transportation in Ottawa, says the problem is traffic lights aren't coordinated until the end of construction projects.

"Fiber optic cable, which connects traffic lights together, is expensive," Hucker said.

"As a result, signals can't be coordinated until multiple developments are completed in a certain area, and the fiber optic cable is put in," Hucker said.

Mike Claffey, spokesperson for IDOT, says the lights at Route 59 and Trade Street are coordinated together, and then the lights from Commons Drive all the way west to Ogden Falls Boulevard in Oswego are coordinated together as well.

"A lot of things can throw off the coordination of traffic lights," Claffey said.

"A lot of slower construction traffic can keep drivers from being able to get through more green lights -- especially during rush hour."

Additionally, traffic signals are usually only coordinated when they're within a half-mile of each other or less.

Again, fiber optic cable is expensive to install for longer distances, and coordinating lights any farther apart tends to not be effective.

Claffey says IDOT will check the traffic signals along U.S. Route 34 to make sure they're operating as programmed, and make any adjustments to improve traffic flow as needed.