Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – An early Tuesday morning crash caused extensive damage to utility lines and traffic signals, creating hours of traffic disruptions at one of Jonesboro’s busiest intersections.
The accident happened around 6:30 a.m. when a pickup truck struck a utility pole at the intersection of Highland Drive (Highway 18) and Red Wolf Boulevard.
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Authorities have not released information about the driver or what led to the crash.
The collision knocked out electricity to approximately 800 City Water and Light customers in the surrounding area, including power to the traffic signals at the intersection. With the lights dark, Jonesboro Police officers directed traffic until electricity was restored. Once power returned, the signals operated in flashing red mode in all directions, requiring motorists to treat the intersection as a four-way stop.
The intersection, which carries five lanes of traffic in each direction, is among the busiest in the city and experienced significant congestion throughout much of the day.
Brian Richardson, the City of Jonesboro’s Chief Administrative Officer, said engineering crews made substantial progress Tuesday afternoon by restoring the traffic signals to a pre-programmed timing cycle after power was reestablished.
Under that temporary configuration, the signals change at preset intervals rather than responding to traffic detected by roadway sensors.
“Work will continue tomorrow to adjust timing for traffic efficiency based off traffic patterns,” Richardson said.
He asked motorists to remain patient while traveling through the area as crews complete repairs and fine-tune the signal timing.
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