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Council approves $175,000 addition for townwide traffic signal controller upgrades
Summary
Blacksburg approved Ordinance 2092 to amend the FY25‑26 budget and appropriate additional VDOT revenue‑sharing funds to replace incompatible traffic signal controllers at 28 intersections, enabling continuous traffic counting, live video feeds and remote diagnostics.
The Blacksburg Town Council approved Ordinance 2092 to amend the fiscal‑year 2025‑26 operating budget and appropriate additional funds for a townwide traffic signal controller replacement project.
Public Works Director John Boyer told council new controllers installed at E. Arch Street proved incompatible with existing models, preventing coordinated communications between signals. Boyer said the replacement would support signal coordination to reduce congestion and provide continuous traffic counting, a live video feed option and remote diagnostics that allow staff to troubleshoot from a laptop.
Boyer said the total project budget is approximately $220,000; an existing project account contains $45,000 and council was asked to appropriate an additional $175,000 to complete the work. No members of the public spoke during the hearing on this ordinance.
A motion to approve Ordinance 2092 carried on a roll call vote with recorded ayes from council members (Ford, Edgar Smith, Mattingly, Sutphin, Watson, Anderson and Oliver). Council directed staff to proceed with procurement and implementation consistent with VDOT revenue‑sharing agreements and the town’s capital project procedures.
The appropriation is intended to allow procurement of compatible controller equipment and to enable remote diagnostics that staff said will reduce response time for signal faults.
