Hurricane Irma: Dozens Of Pinellas Traffic Signals Out

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – With Duke Energy reporting more than 411,000 Pinellas County customers without power as of Monday evening, the St. Petersburg Police Department has reminded county residents that the outages are affecting the roadways as well.

As Pinellas County evacuees are in the process of returning to their homes, St. Pete police are reporting that power outages to traffic signals has created dangerous road conditions. The department is reporting St. Petersburg itself has dozens of traffic signals out of service along all of its major north-south roadways.

Because of the high number of police officers required to man the affected intersections, the St. Petersburg Police Department reported it has resumed 12-hour emergency shifts for its officers. Also, the St. Petersburg Emergency Operations Center has requested assistance for 200 traffic control officers to help man the intersections.

Watch: Florida Governor: A Long Road To Recovery After Irma

The police department said it has not been notified by Duke Energy when power will be restored.

While there are still outages, the St. Petersburg Police Department is emphasizing the following safety protocol for motorists as they approach the affected intersections:

• Treat flashing traffic signals as four-way stop signs
• Proceed slowly through intersections
• Heed the instructions of officers directing traffic.

For more information, call the Citizen Info Center at (727) 893-7111.

Image via St. Petersburg Police Department Facebook page