Oamaru's new traffic lights, the first of which are due to be operational next week, will be controlled from Dunedin.
The five sets of new traffic lights, part of a New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) $3.1 million, SH1 safety improvement project through Oamaru, will be linked to the Dunedin City Council's traffic control system.
The first set of lights, at the Eden-Thames Sts intersection, will be switched on next week so the existing pedestrian crossing lights mid-way in the block can be removed. Parts from the pedestrian lights will be used at the Ouse-Thames Sts intersection traffic lights.
The remaining four sets of traffic lights at the Thames-Severn Coquet Sts, Ribble-Thames, Usk-Thames and Ouse-Thames Sts intersections, will be commissioned towards the end of this month, once paving and road marking is completed.
NZTA regional projects manager Simon Underwood said the five sets of lights would be synchronised and linked into the traffic control system in Dunedin operated by the city council.
Sensors on the intersections would tell how much traffic there is and adjust the signal phases as required.
That will be monitored, and where needed, adjusted in Dunedin. The Dunedin centre would also be notified of any faults.
Mr Underwood said if the link between the traffic lights and Dunedin was broken, the lights would continue to operate. If the sensors failed, the lights would go to a default programme until they were fixed.
Mr Underwood said it was cheaper to link the Oamaru lights to Dunedin than set up a separate control in Oamaru.
The road safety improvement project, being carried out by Fulton Hogan, aims to reduce the number of crashes which occur in central Oamaru - five times greater than similar urban sections of highway.
It has already involved shifting the Boer War monument about another 40m south of the Thames-Severn-Coquet Sts intersection.
Other work includes removing roundabouts and replacing them with traffic lights, redesigning the central median and footpaths at intersections and crossing points, improving cycle lanes and removal of mid-block signals and pedestrian crossings.
The project will retain and enhance the appearance of the main street area, which is characterised by its historic architecture and dual row of elm trees within the central median.
