WATCH: Clayton Plans Traffic-Signal Improvements

Twenty-two signals in downtown will be upgraded in the middle to latter part of this year in an effort to improve traffic flow, according to a new city YouTube video.

"Over the next year and a half, we're going to be improving our traffic signals to help traffic flow and also give us more data about our traffic flow," civil engineer Steve Meyer of Clayton's public works department tells viewers in the video.

The $350,000 effort is known as the Traffic Signal Improvement Project. A total of $280,000 will be funded by a grant; Clayton will pay $60,000; MoDOT will pay $5,500; and Ladue will pay $4,500.

Old magnetic induction loops that detect the arrivals of vehicles at intersections will be replaced by a wireless system that is easier to replace, Meyer said. The detection devices, known as pucks, will be placed in the road and covered with epoxy.

Lane closures are expected to be minimal because installation of pucks takes about 30 minutes, Meyer said. Hanley and Clayton roads, along with Big Bend Boulevard, will not be affected because they are managed by St. Louis County.

Officials will then work to improve the accuracy of traffic signals beginning late this year and going into early 2013. Permanent traffic count stations will monitor traffic levels entering the city at various times throughout the week.

More information is available on the public works page of the city's website.