TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The video above was published in October 2022.
The city of Tyler and the Texas Department of Transportation are working together to increase safety through the reverse curve on West Grande Boulevard.
During a Wednesday meeting, city council members approved an advanced funding agreement with the TxDOT for two Highway Safety Improvement Program Projects with the first project being an LED curve warning system and profile pavement markings for the West Grande curve.
According to the city of Tyler, the warning system and pavement markings were recommended from the city's West Grande Boulevard Reverse Curve study.
These changes have been proven to reduce crashes by about 15%, according to the city's statement.
The total construction cost is estimated at $134,704.79. The Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program will fund 90 percent of that cost, while the city of Tyler will use funds from the Half-Cent Sales Tax Program to fund the other 10%.
City leaders are expected to begin seeking bids for the project in August.
For the second project, the city of Tyler and TxDOT will team up to upgrade 106 of the 149 signalized intersections in Tyler located on U.S. highways, Texas highways, and farm and ranch roads that go through Tyler.
These upgrades will include replacing current lights with about 3,700 LED signal indications and installing retroreflective backplates on the signals. Officials said these upgrades also reduce wrecks by 15%.
"Traffic signal backplates are thin plates that surround the traffic signal heads. They improve the visibility of the signal with a contrasted background," said Traffic Engineer Cameron Williams. "Adding the retroreflective border of the backplates enhances the visibility of the traffic signal even more. The yellow retroreflective strip can alert drivers to the intersection locations during power outages when the signals are dark, which is when the non-reflective signal heads and backplates are not visible."
The second project is expected to cost just over $1.4 million. The Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program will fund 90% and TxDOT will provide the rest of the funding, the city of Tyler said.