Highway 24, Lawrence Street intersection gets new traffic signals

Those who travel Highway 24 have surely noticed the new addition being installed on this thoroughfare in Russellville.

After almost four years of communication with the Alabama Department of Transportation, Russellville is getting traffic lights at the intersection of Highway 24 and Lawrence Street.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Russellville Mayor David Grissom. “This is something that is really going to be good for the safety of everyone. I know we have had quite a few wrecks there, so this was really needed.”

The traffic lights have been installed but still need electricity hook-ups and then testing to ensure they are working properly.

Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said it will be about a month before the signals are ready to go live.

Once the lights are approved operational, they will flash for one week to allow people to become used to them being there. After that time period, they will be fully operational.

Russellville City Councilman David Palmer said some of the installation process has caused confusion for drivers because the previous stop sign in the median had to be moved to another location while the lights were being installed.

To help clear up confusion, a new stop sign is going to be placed in the location of the old stop sign until the lights are operational.

Since the traffic lights were installed by the state highway department because it is a state road, there was no cost to the city.

Grissom said he is excited to see this improvement finally come to Russellville and hopes this will fix any traffic problems.

Russellville City Councilman Jamie Harris echoed Grissom’s statement, saying the traffic lights will be a big help in that area.

“That is in my district, in District 5, and it was much needed,” Harris said. “I think this will really help make that area a lot safer.”