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This week, a new traffic signal went live on Route 58 as part of the Holland Road Corridor Improvements Project.

Since construction began in earnest earlier this year, the traffic in what was already a congested area has become a chore for people who must navigate it on a daily basis. Heading through there during rush hour, or lunch hour, or on holiday weekends is bad enough that the people who are fortunate enough to be able to work from home would rather succumb to the tedium of endless Zoom meetings than try to brave the traffic in what’s known as “Hamburger Alley.” And Lord help them if the need for gas or the desire for a fast-food sandwich strikes as they’re driving through.

Much of the fate of this stretch of road was signed, sealed and delivered more than 10 years ago, when what was then known as the CenterPoint Intermodal Center was approved by City Council with only fuzzy plans of how to go about paying for the road improvements necessitated by it. Many years later, the actual construction for these road improvements is just now beginning, and it’s probably a good thing that the leasing of the industrial park has failed to live up to a lot of the original expectations, or the traffic would be worse than it is.

For those who are dismayed by the current state of things, we offer a glimmer of hope that things will be much better once the improvements are completed.

We also want to encourage everyone to be careful in the construction area. The safety of yourself, your fellow drivers, work crews, city staff, and emergency responders depends on it.

Please — have patience, slow down, don’t run red lights, don’t drive drunk, drugged, drowsy or distracted, get out of the way of emergency vehicles with lights and sirens, and for goodness’ sake, don’t cut off the ubiquitous tractor-trailers. They leave the stopping room ahead of them for a reason. Everyone wants to get home at the end of the day.