Motorists in Southampton Town can expect minor delays while driving east on Sunrise Highway, County Road 39 and Montauk Highway this week, as Suffolk County Department of Public Works officials will collect traffic data in preparation for a blinking light program scheduled to take place next week.
From 5 to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, county engineers will drive east in two separate vehicles on Sunrise Highway from the Shinnecock Canal through County Road 39 to where it meets with Montauk Highway, according to a press release from Southampton Town. The engineers will measure how long it takes to travel through that corridor during the morning commute.
Two DPW vehicles will also travel east on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays from Flanders Road to the Shinnecock Canal, also from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, to gauge travel time on that road as well.
All of that data will then be compared to data collected during a blinking light program scheduled to take place next week, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on April 19-21, where the traffic signal at County Road 39 and Tuckahoe Road will be switched from a tri-colored light to a blinking yellow light. It will allow traffic to travel through that intersection without stopping, but prohibit left turns onto County Road 39 from either side of Tuckahoe Road, and left turns onto Tuckahoe Road from County Road 39 in either direction.
The goal of the program is to help engineers find a permanent solution to the traffic delays experienced on County Road 39 every year, according to the release.