Vienna awards $550K contract to upgrade Maple and Park traffic signal

A central traffic signal in Vienna is set for an overhaul.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously on March 21 to award a contract for a reconstruction of the Maple Avenue and Park Street traffic signal, a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.

Located at a busy intersection near the Vienna Marketplace shopping center and Vienna Presbyterian Church, the signal is one of the town’s oldest and in need of a replacement and upgrade, Vienna Transportation Engineer Andrew Jinks told FFXnow by email.

According to the project page, the intersection’s traffic signals currently do not align with the road lanes. The mast arms on the two existing poles have also been strained by the addition of separate left-turn lights.

The poles will be replaced by a “four-pole configuration with underground wiring and pedestrian-audible countdown signals.” A design plan finalized last July indicates that the new mast arms will be 40 or 49 feet long and feature new road signs and LED lights.

The contract awarded last week went to the Richardson Wayland Electric Company, whose bid of $550,258 was the lowest of three competing vendors.

The council also approved a 10% contingency fund of $55,026, bringing the total to $605,284.

The project will be fully funded by the state through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s SMART SCALE program, which allocates tax dollars to local transportation projects based on congestion mitigation, safety, and other factors.

No date has been set for construction yet, but Jinks says the contractor is currently developing a schedule. The existing signals and vehicle detection system will remain operational during construction, according to the project plans.

“Since most of the improvements are outside of the roadway (or above it) we do not anticipate significant traffic impacts,” Jinks wrote. “Any improvements that many impact traffic will be scheduled at off-peak times.”