Accident, Mistimed Stoplight, Disabled Car Contributed to Traffic Backup

Did you get stuck in the traffic backup on southbound East Lake Road Monday morning? 

An East Lake Patch reader emailed us asking what caused the traffic jam that wound up making two of her kids late for school.

It turns out that three separate incidents created the traffic mess that had vehicles backed up almost to the Pasco County line. 

It started around 6:45 a.m. with a minor collision on East Lake Road near the intersection of Keystone Road, according to East Lake Fire District Chief David Toney. He says the vehicles involved were moved to the side of East Lake Road. Then shortly afterward, a car that was traveling southbound on East Lake Road broke down in the middle lane, just north of the Keystone Road intersection.

"It was in the worst possible place it could be," said Toney.

Drivers had to maneuver around the disabled car, which created a slowdown.

Toney says to make matters worse, the car's electricity system was dead and the doors were locked, so crews had to use special equipment to get inside the car and they had to use a special dolly to move it, which took more time than usual.

Then, the timing mechanism for the stoplight at the intersection of Keystone and East Lake roads malfunctioned, according to Toney. He said the timing for the light appeared to give drivers on Keystone Road about four minutes to get through the intersection. Drivers on East Lake Road, which is much busier, had about 30 seconds to get through the intersection.

"Normally, East Lake Road has the longer light," said Toney.

The timing malfunction on the stoplight was a glitch and did not pose a safety risk, according to a spokesperson for Florida Safety Contractors who did not want to be named. Florida Safety Contractors is the company in charge of the Keystone Road construction project and has temporary control over the stoplight while Keystone Road is widened.

The traffic backup ended around 8:30 a.m., according to Toney.

"The best part was everybody was safe, no one got hurt," he said.

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