A portable traffic light directs traffic through the 4000 block of South Ocean Boulevard in Highland Beach on Sept. 2. A contractor for FDOT is installing drainage pipes as part of a $400,000 project to address chronic flooding. The project is expected to run through September. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
A construction project designed to address chronic flooding on a portion of State Road A1A in Highland Beach is creating headaches for both northbound and southbound motorists who face backups due to a lane closure.
As part of the $400,000 project in the 4000 block of South Ocean Boulevard, a contractor working for the Florida Department of Transportation is installing drainage pipes along with a French drain and catch basins.
Begun in mid-August, the project just south of the Regency Highland condominiums is expected to be completed before the end of September, weather permitting.
With the southbound lane portion currently closed round the clock for the project, the contractor is using a suspended traffic light as a traffic control device in addition to flag operators during peak hours.
“Temporary traffic signals can be used for single lane closures on a two-lane, two-way road,” according to an FDOT spokesperson, who said the devices have been used on other projects in South Florida and throughout the state. The northbound lane will also be shut down for a period of time once work is finished on the southbound side and that side is reopened.
Highland Beach town officials say there has been one crash at the work site, when a car stopped at the traffic light was rear-ended by another vehicle. No serious injuries were reported.
— Rich Pollack
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