The city of Mesquite is installing two new traffic signals on Pioneer Boulevard that will make it safer to travel the busy roadway. Work is expected to be completed by mid-April. Photo by Barbara Ellestad.
All those travelers who have constantly been irritated by the difficult and busy intersection of Pioneer Boulevard and the Grapevine overpass are about to get a long-awaited solution. And the fear of traversing the almost-hidden intersection of Turtleback Road and Pioneer Boulevard will soon be gone.
Travis Anderson, city of Mesquite Building Department, said both intersections are receiving new traffic signals that are projected to be completed by mid-April.
“Currently, we are upgrading the Grapevine Road ramp that approaches Pioneer Boulevard northward by installing handicap ramps and the infrastructure for the new traffic signals,” Anderson said. “We are concurrently working on the infrastructure for new signals at Turtleback Road and Pioneer.”
Anderson anticipates that the new light poles for the signals will be shipped to the city on March 29. “There’s a massive back order for the poles and we’ve waited a long time for them,” he said. “We are getting all the other work done first so that once they get here, we can install them quickly.”
The city is installing a flashing caution light on Pioneer Boulevard as travelers approach the Turtleback Road intersection from the west that will warn drivers to prepare to stop for a red light. “That area has a real blind spot going into the intersection and we want to warn people ahead of time about red lights,” Anderson said. “Having the traffic signal there will make the area much safer, especially for people turning left from Turtleback onto Pioneer.”
Anderson also said that a planned traffic signal at the intersection of Hafen Lane and Riverside Road has been put on hold indefinitely because the amount of traffic does not warrant one.
