Lights at F.M. 116 and State Highway 9 intersection now operational

 

Traffic signals at the intersection of F.M. 116 and State Highway 9 are operational as of Tuesday, Dec. 13, nearly three years after the opening of State Highway 9, which connects Highway 190 with F.M. 116.

 

The Texas Department of Transportation began the project in mid- September, with the new stoplights intended to increase safety by creating greater control and efficiency of turning and through traffic movements at the intersections.

 

The intersection was the site of numerous accidents when stop signs halted the flow of traffic from SH9 for drivers wanting to turn left onto F.M. 116 and head south, or those heading south on F.M. 116 wanting to head south on SH9.

 

In 2014, not long after the intersection opened, the driver of a blue Kia ran the stop sign, failed to yield at the intersection and struck a CCISD school bus carrying special needs students. It was the first accident at the intersection.

 

At that time there were no plans to install a traffic light, but there was an “intersection ahead” sign, a “stop ahead”, a flashing beacon and a stop sign.

 

After that first accident, Tx- DOT’s public information officer, Ken Roberts, said TxDOT looks at a number of factors, called warrantsor minimum standards, when deciding whether or not to install a traffic signal for an existing road or a new roadway.

 

These factors include the amount of traffic on a road, pedestrian traffic, the crash history at location, the delay to existing traffic a light would cause, as well as the speed of approaching traffic.

 

In June 2016, there was a traffic fatality at that intersection when Willie Mae Browning died when her vehicle was struck by a Ford F-250. It was thought that Browning experienced a medical emergency and ran the stop sign.

 

The stoplight project was