New signals will be activated

Traffic signals will soon be activated at two redesigned intersections in Evans to improve safety and convenience along Washington Road, transportation officials say.

The lights have been strung above Washington and Gibbs roads and at Old Evans Road near the new Lowe's. The Old Evans project was initiated by Hull Storey Retail Group, the developer of the Lowe's store.

Kendal Jones, a vice president for the company, said the signals will blink for about four weeks and the intersection should be completely operational in about a month.

Crews rerouted the course of Old Evans Road from the northwest side of Pizza Joint to its southeast side, which Hull Storey officials have said positioned the intersection at an appropriate distance from the Washington and Belair roads intersection to permit the traffic signal. A signal was needed to improve traffic flow for Lowe's customers and commuters, Jones has said.

The Pizza Joint closed for about two months during construction of the intersection before reopening Nov. 10 with a much larger parking lot and a renovated interior with 25 more seats, manager Steven Bryn said.

"We have been packed every day," he said. New landscaping and a patio area will be added soon.

The Gibbs Road interchange is a $670,000 state Department of Transportation project that officials said should be completed no later than Dec. 15. Cissy McNure, a spokeswoman for the DOT, said crews will put the finishing touches on the intersection with fresh asphalt and lane striping as early as this week.

"The project is an operational improvement over the existing intersection and was done to realign Gibbs Road and provide a signal for safety," she stated in an e-mail.

Gibbs Road now intersects with Washington Road at nearly a right angle; the inter-section has a center turn lane.

The signals will flash caution lights for at least 72 hours before activation, she said.