While rush hour is typically a time when everyone wants to get where they need to go as quickly as possible, sometimes a little waiting can actually make your commute go by faster. Soon, drivers commuting through Bakersfield using Highway 58 or Highway 99 will have to stop before entering the freeway during busy traffic hours due to new ramp meters. 23ABC's Veronica Morley has the story.
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00:00 Back here at home, drivers commuting on Highway 58 or the 99 will soon have to
00:05 stop before entering the freeways during busy traffic hours due to new ramp
00:09 meters. 23 ABC's Veronica Morley spoke with Caltrans and has everything you
00:14 need to know about these changes. As its name suggests, rush hour is typically
00:19 when people want to get where they're going as quickly as possible. But
00:23 sometimes a little waiting could actually help your commute go by faster.
00:29 It comes down to increased traffic volumes in Bakersfield and as that
00:34 continues to increase that there has to be a system in place. To ease traffic
00:39 during busy times of the day, multiple new ramp meters were activated Monday
00:43 along Highway 58 and parts of Highway 99, staggering traffic from the ramp as
00:47 motorists enter the freeway. The meters can be found on ramps entering Highway
00:51 58 from H Street, Chester Avenue and along Union Avenue and the ramp entering
00:57 Highway 99 from Rosedale Highway. You've got a lot of vehicles on 99 and on 58
01:02 already and this will help kind of ease the flow of traffic that's joining the
01:07 pre existing traffic on the highway from those on ramps. For the first week,
01:11 these ramps will remain green lighted to help motorists adjust to the new
01:14 meters. Then starting August 1st, the ramps will switch from red to green
01:18 during morning and afternoon commutes.
01:20 The meters are placed on the ramp several yards away from the highway in
01:26 order to give drivers adequate time to increase their speed to meet and merge
01:31 into traffic. And it's typically during a time of day where highway traffic
01:35 isn't exactly going maybe the full speed limit as of as of yet. So it does allow
01:40 again, you'll see traffic maybe going a little bit more slowly on 58 99 and it
01:45 allows a little bit of space for the on ramp traffic to reach that same speed
01:49 and find the entry point.
01:53 So you're not trying to get a whole row of vehicles through the on ramp in at
01:57 the same point at the same time where they would likely be coming close to a
02:01 stop anyway, trying to enter the roadway during less congested traffic
02:05 hours like overnight, the meters will be inactive and motorists will enter the
02:09 highways as normal free flowing drivers. But should the need come to
02:13 stagger traffic, the ramps could be used to help manage the increased
02:17 congestion. So if there is a period outside of rush hours where say there's
02:21 been a collision and traffic is already slow, those lights may be activated
02:25 during that time.
02:26 And Caltrans already has plans to activate around 7 to 8 more meter
02:32 ramps coming this fall for 23 abc News. I'm Veronica Morley connecting you.