It’s been a couple months since I last wrote about the construction going on in the vicinity of Towers Shopping Center. And, things sure have been changing.

Most notably, there is now a traffic light at the intersection with 23rd Street, which I believe has been frequently considered a popular shortcut between Brandon and Colonial Avenue.

New traffic light (at the bottom of the hill) now working on Brandon Avenue

This is all part of an effort by VDOT to help control congestion that can occur in the entire area, especially during peak times in the mornings and late afternoons. During these times, substantial traffic can back up as drivers attempt to exit from from I-581/Route 220 to Colonial Avenue in front of Towers Shopping Center.

And Brandon Avenue itself is a common route from the downtown area to other parts of the city and county, as well as to Salem. I for one travel this road almost daily driving home during rush hour.

From now on there will just be one exception, I may on occasion be required to stop at the new traffic light and allow drivers to turn left from 23rd Street to Brandon Avenue. Until now, making that turn seemed nearly impossible around the 5 o’clock hour in the late afternoon.

Cars on Brandon Avenue stop at a new traffic light to allow a bus to turn left from 23rd Street

I’m not necessarily a big fan of traffic lights in general but this seems like a overall a good move and had been increasingly necessary to better control the flow of traffic.

Will these new road changes cause you to alter your daily or infrequent driving routes at all?