Motorists traveling on Highways 14 and 15 in New Ulm should expect to experience a change in traffic patterns starting the week of May 23rd as the Minnesota Department of Transportation will be testing and revising the timing of 15 traffic signal systems to improve safety and reduce delay along these highways.

“Motorists will need to pay closer attention at the signals, as the timing and sequencing may not be what they are used to,” explained Scott Thompson, District Traffic Engineer.

When making a left turn at certain intersections, drivers may find that the green left turn arrow appears at a different time in the cycle. The times of day when the flashing yellow arrow is used will also be updated to best fit the traffic volumes throughout the day.

These traffic signal timing updates are part of a larger effort to reduce delays for motorists like what took place on Hwy169 in St. Peter and Hwys22 and 169 in Mankato. When the adjustments are finalized, motorists will benefit from reduced delays, stops, fuel usage, emissions, and wear and tear on their vehicles.

Nationally, updating traffic signal timing has been shown to reduce traffic delay by 15-40 percent, reduce travel times by up to 25 percent, and has a benefit to cost ratio that can exceed 50:1. Similar results were also realized with the St. Peter and Mankato signal retiming efforts.