The name engineers use to describe the only traffic signal of its kind in Cache Valley says it all.
The small cluster of arrow lights aligned with the northbound right-turn lane at 4th North and Main Street is whatâs known as a âright-turn overlap.â
The green arrow is activated when northbound traffic is stopped for southbound vehicles using their green arrow to turn east on 4th North. The cars in the northbound right-turn lane can legally go right during this phase after making a complete stop, but during high-volume traffic, this process has always led to backup at the intersection, so the Utah Department of Transportation decided to install the overlap signal to maintain steady traffic flow.
After more than 10 years on the EPAâs watchlist, Cache Valley is meeting federal PM2.5 air pollution standards.
While the âattainmentâ designation wonât be official until a few more steps, including public comment periods, Cache Valley is the first nonattainment area in Utah to clear that bar.
âIt doesnât mean that all our problems are solved and that we donât have work still to do,â said Jeff Gilbert, transportation planner for the Cache Metropolitan Planning Organization. âBut itâs kind of a good sign, I think, something to celebrate, that weâve met the standard.â
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After Cache Valleyâs nonattainment designation is lifted, it is expected to enter a âmaintenanceâ regulatory phase. The EPA will still be watching PM2.5 levels in Cache and Franklin counties, Gilbert said, but bad air days wonât mean that local officials have to go all the way back to the drawing board.