A counterclockwise circulation of traffic around the Square will be maintained for access to parking and businesses on the Square. All other local traffic will be detoured, and through traffic with a destination outside the Square is encouraged to use North and South Marietta Parkways.

A resurfacing contractor will begin milling and paving the street during the week of April 5. Most of the work will take place in the evenings and at night to minimize impact on businesses and traffic. Motorists should expect work to be ongoing 24 hours a day on the Square for the next couple weeks.

An efficient transportation system, which places a high premium on the quality of life of Marietta’s citizens, is a goal City Council established as part of its vision statement.

For more information, call Marietta’s Public Works Department at 770-794-5650.

The upgrades will include new black ornamental traffic poles, decorative bases and mast arms with special downtown signage and wireless signal communication. All old traffic signals will be replaced with new LED (light emitting diodes) to increase visibility and decrease the amount of energy required to operate the signals. If you are wanting to read more on how LED lights work, take a look here at How Stuff Works

Here are some reasons that LED traffic lights are better than conventional traffic signals:

• LEDs are brighter. The LED arrays fill the entire “hole” and have equal brightness across the entire surface, making them brighter overall.
• LED bulbs last for years, while halogen bulbs last for months. Replacing bulbs costs money for the trucks and people who do the work, and it also ties up traffic. Increasing the replacement interval can save a city big dollars.
• LED bulbs save a lot of energy.

To improve safety in and around the pedestrian areas, new street signage will be placed on the mast arms for increased visibility while providing a consistent image of the downtown and further enhancing the historic image of the Square. Implementation of the new traffic signal improvement project is expected to be completed in May of 2009.

Additional improvements to the Square will begin later this year and include repaving of road surfaces. Crosswalks and pedestrian areas will also be enhanced. Replacement of the aged traffic poles and signals will be an on-going project throughout Marietta. As the city removes the old poles, they will be refurbished and restored with a new longer-lasting baked-on paint and then reused at other intersections in the city for a consistent look around Marietta and to save taxpayer money.

For more information, contact the city’s Public Works Department at 770-794-5677.