Council approves new traffic light system at Waterloo/Summit intersection

The Russellville City Council accepted a quote for improvements to the traffic light at one of the city’s busiest intersections, Waterloo Road and Summit Street, at its April 20th meeting.

The council awarded the base bid of $35,000 for the electrical portion of the Waterloo Road/Summit Street intersection to Big River Electric, Inc.

That cost will include installation of a new Evo Radar system and cable, along with a cabinet controller and devices.

Russellville District One Councilman David Palmer said there have been repeated issues with the traffic lights at the Waterloo/Summit intersection, with multiple repairs over recent years.

Rather than pouring more money into making what seem to be inevitable problems with the current system, Palmer said the purchase and installation of a new system will allow smoother traffic flow through the busy intersection.

The system has the capability to self-adjust based on volume of vehicles coming from certain directions. For example, in the morning hours when parents are dropping kids off at school, traffic on Summit is increased, so the system has the capability to adjust and allow the light for that westbound traffic on Summit to remain green longer during those periods.

“Obviously, it’s an important intersection with its proximity to our schools,” Palmer said. “And we’ve had multiple problems with the traffic lights there so this will resolve those issues and result in a safer traffic flow that adjusts as vehicle counts change.”

Other agenda items addressed by the council at its April 20th meeting included:

—approval of a service agreement with Tango Tango for 13 radios and remote speaker mics to be used by the Russellville Police Department.

The Sonic XP5 + Rugged LTE radios and Sonic XP5 + Remote Speaker Mics will be billed over a three-year period at a cost of $4,394 per year.

—approval of an ordinance amending the city’s Personnel Policy and Procedures to amend the annual leave provisions and to add funeral leave for employees.

Employees will receive three consecutive workdays for funeral leave due to the death of a member of the employee’s immediate family. The three days will not count as annual leave or leave without pay.

—declared two Humvees in the Russellville Fire Department as surplus property and authorized the sale thereof through GovDeals or sealed bids.

—hired Hunter Briles as a Patrol Officer in the Russellville Police Department.

The next regular meeting of the Russellville City Council will be May 4, 2026, with work session at 6 p.m., meeting to follow.