Tuesday is first day of new traffic technology on stretch of Hwy. 100

WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- The Zoo Interchange project is going to cause plenty of traffic trouble in the next few years, but before the bad, there is some good! On Tuesday, February 19th, drivers began taking advantage of some new technology being utilized on busy Highway 100.

Frustrated drivers report long waits at stop lights and a lot of congestion on Highway 100 near Mayfair Mall.

"I usually sit here forever!" one driver said.

"Just screaming. Just -- 'can the light turn already?' And 'when is it gonna turn green?'" another driver said.

Now, Wisconsin DOT officials hope traffic will flow more easily -- due to new technology being utilized on a stretch of Highway 100 between Burleigh and Walnut.

DOT officials have installed Traffic Detection Cameras linked with detection loops in the roadway itself. WISDOT spokesman Michael Pyritz says a fiber-optic network connects six intersections to each other, so they can communicate.

"As they're detecting the vehicle counts, they can change, whether it's a longer green light, a shorter green light -- they can change the volume of cars moving through and not only will one intersection know, all of them will know and can change accordingly to help move that flow of traffic on through," Pyritz said.

Pyritz says this is the first time such a system has been implemented in the state, but more could be coming following an evaluation.

"We do want to see how the results turn out, whether we're seeing sufficient improvements to justify further investments, but we're really excited about this technology and really believe it's gonna help the motorists," Pyritz said.

Pyritz wants to warn drivers who frequently pass-through this stretch of Highway 100 that the signal patterns are changing, so those green lights and green arrows may not be where you expect them, when you expect them to be there.