ORANGE BEACH — A new traffic light is set to be added next to the Orange Beach Culver's at the intersection of Canal Road and Wharf Parkway East, allowing drivers to have an easier left-turn from Wharf Parkway East.

At Orange Beach's May 20 Committee of the Whole meeting, a resolution authorizing an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) for the installation, operation and maintenance of the new traffic light was announced.

According to the resolution document, the city will reimburse ALDOT for all expenses accumulated from the maintenance and operation of the signal. This resolution is set to be voted on at the June 3 City Council meeting.

As previously reported by GCM, Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said a temporary light should be placed in the location around September or October. However, "it takes about a year" for permanent signals to be put in place, but "they are coming."

"We've been trying to do this for some time, but we have to get ALDOT's permission. They have to do a study, etc.," Kennon previously said. "So, I think we've finally got to the point now (where) we get to pay to put the traffic light in for $100,000."

The possibility of other traffic lights on Canal Road was brought up during the discussion of another issue at the May 20 meeting but Kennon said with too many lights on Canal, a lot of traffic could start to pile up.

Chris Pappas, Orange Beach city engineer, said at the meeting there is to be an "access management study" spanning from The Wharf to where State Road 161 intersects with Canal Road. This will "probably result in regulations" and recommendations for traffic infrastructure on the road.

Kennon said this study is necessary because "it's really dangerous" on some parts of Canal Road.

"There are people that make the left turn to the center lane, they don't stop and wait for a break, they use it as a merge lane," Kennon said. "So, they're watching their rearview mirror (to see) behind them and don't see somebody else making a left turn and that's when it's — bam — somebody's t-boned or hit head-on."

The city is working with ALDOT on potential solutions to the sometimes-dangerous left turns out of subdivisions onto Canal Road.

"We've been talking to the state about doing something along the lines of what we did on the beach," Kennon said. "… We are working on that. We're not insensitive to (problems with left turns), it's just difficult."

He said there is discussion about having right-turn-only signs out of major subdivisions along Canal Road then having an "area where you can make a U-turn" further down the road, similar to some intersections along Perdido Beach Boulevard.

While the city waits for other options to be analyzed and approved, Kennon said this new light should ease some of the congestion by creating "breaks" in the "clumps" of traffic, allowing more cars to make a left turn safely.