New Huntingburg Stoplight Now Operational with Technology Upgrades

Huntingburg - Wednesday, the new stoplight at the intersection of U.S. 231 and 14th Street became fully operational - with new upgrades attributed to population, and traffic, growth.

Rather than previously-employed time-based stoplights in the area, and the state, the Indiana Department of Transportation opted for a more modernized, hybrid approach, says INDOT Southwest Communications Director Jason Tiller.

"We live in a very modern, technological world and it's becoming very standard that things are going to computer models - they're becoming more dependent upon WiFi and things of that nature," Tiller said. "This is kind of a hybrid model that can be programmed to be worked on a timing at a specific, or a different timing at another time. It's also kind of a hybrid model in that it also has sensors, so it knows when vehicles are there and it can adjust based on the traffic that is there in real time."

For the updates and advancements at the Huntingburg intersection, as well as others in Dubois County, Tiller credits the growth of the county.

"It's no secret that Dubois County is a very growth area..." Tiller said. "In general, we don't employ these solutions in areas that are not growing. In fact, sometimes, we have actually taken out stoplights, we've taken out things that were previously useful but are now maybe too much."

The new stoplight had previously moved from just north of its current location to better suit travel and traffic within the area. 

Upcoming projects within Dubois County can be found at NextLevelRoads.com, complete with interactive maps.