Road crews are being commended for coming to the rescue following an incident in the City of Wixom.

The City is in the midst of repaving the City Hall parking lot at 49045 Pontiac Trail. On August 27th, a subcontractor dump truck exited the lot, turning left onto Pontiac Trail, without lowering the truck’s bed. That resulted in a collision with the traffic signal and street sign arm for westbound Pontiac Trail at Center Boulevard. The arm was spun to face away from westbound Pontiac Trail. The electrical wiring was apparently damaged as a result, leaving the signals inoperative and ineffective and leaving the City with an unsafe situation.

City Manager Steven Brown formally thanked the Road Commission for Oakland County for its prompt response in a letter. He says crews quickly appeared on scene and got the remaining signals functioning in a way to minimize the impact on traffic and safety the same afternoon. Given the electrical problems, Brown said he had anticipated the repair would take days. Instead, he says crews were on site quickly the next day and had completed repairs and restored the signal to safe operation within hours. In the end, the situation was back to normal in just over 24 hours.

Brown said he found the turnaround time fantastic and the City of Wixom certainly appreciates the prompt, and effective, action on the problem. He says it was important for both safety and traffic flow reasons and road commission staff certainly treated it that way. He thanked everyone involved for a truly efficient and prompt response to the local problem. (JM)