New temporary traffic lights will be installed to help improve the busy intersection at South Hickory Street and West Michigan Avenue.

The Foley City Council decided on Monday, Feb. 17, to update an agreement to design these new lights. This is part of a joint project between the city and Baldwin County to add turn lanes at the intersection.

Baldwin County will later replace the temporary lights with permanent ones mounted on sturdy poles called mast arms. However, the mast arms won’t be ready for installation for another seven to nine months.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the city approved the project about two years ago. He said work on the project should begin in the current year.

He said that while the intersection is maintained by Baldwin County, the city is working with the county on the project. The project includes adding left-turn lanes on both Hickory and Michigan. 

“We try to utilize the right of way, as it is, to construct this and add those dedicated turn lanes in all four directions,” Hellmich said. “That's really the flaw of this intersection. It will also be upgraded with mast arms. Mast arms are very expensive, but they're more resilient.”

Hellmich said the new design for improvements will preserve most of the large oaks at the intersection.

“We work very closely with the design team and with engineering to preserve those giant oak trees that are on the east side,” Hellmich said.

He said one tree at the intersection has already been struck several times and could be removed as a traffic hazard.

“It's got big gaps where its cars have hit it over the years,” Hellmich said. “It's already been struck many times, and those are generally high-impact wrecks so that one will be gone. But the ones on the southwest side and the ones south of those we will be able to protect.”

Other road projects are also planned or are underway to improve the flow of traffic in the southwest area of Foley. A planned extension of Baldwin County 20 is expected to take some of the traffic pressure off the area of Hickory and Michigan. Work has also begun on intersection improvements at Alabama 59 and Baldwin County 12.