Knowledge Resources

Optimizing signal timing is considered a low-cost approach to reducing congestion. Based on data from six separate studies, the costs range from $2,500 to $3,100 per signal per update. While this range is reasonable, costs could be slightly more or less. A cost summary based on the City of Orlando’s Millenia Mall Signal Retiming Project is presented below; links to cost summaries from the other five studies as well as the synthesized costs summary are also provided.

Major changes in traffic patterns have occurred due to continued growth around the Mall at Millenia and the opening of the nearby Interstate-4 (I-4) interchange in Orlando, Florida. The City of Orlando contracted for the development of traffic signal timing plans to provide coordination and manage traffic throughout the area. The scope of work included traffic signal plans preparation, data collection, and field observation for fine-tuning of the timing plans.

The project encompassed the following six services:

• 24-Hour Machine Counts
• 8-Hour Vehicle and Pedestrian Turning Movement Counts
• Field Intersection Inventory
• Qualitative Assessment of Intersection/Arterial Operation
• Signal Timing Analysis
• Fine Tuning

Timing plans would be implemented by the City of Orlando with field adjustments made by the contractor. A total of 16 intersections were retimed at a cost of $49,338. This cost equates to approximately $3,100 per intersection. The table below presents a breakout of specific tasks and costs per task for this project. In addition, the percent of total cost for each task is shown. This project is quite typical of the breakdown of retiming costs per intersection.

Task	Cost by Task	Percent of Total Cost
Project Management	$1,560	1.5%
Weekday Turning Movement Counts Saturday Turning Movement Counts	$15,848 $3,650	57%
Field Intersection Inventory	$2,400	3.5%
Qualitative Assessment	$2,520	3.5%
Signal Timing Analysis	$11,360	17.5%
Fine Tuning	$10,080	14%
Final Deliverables	$1,920	3%
TOTAL	$49,338	100%

Related links:

Synthesized Costs of Traffic Signal Retiming
Cost range for retiming traffic signals: $2,500 to $3,100 per signal per update.

National Traffic Signal Report Card
Costs to update signal timing: $3,000 or less per intersection.

Regional Signal Timing Program - 2005 Cycle Program Performance
Average cost to retime signals under the MTC program: $2,400 per intersection.

Benefits of Retiming Traffic Signals: A Reference for Practitioners and Decision Makers About the Benefits of Traffic Signal Retiming
Cost range for signal retiming: $2,000 - $2,500 per intersection.

The Benefits of Retiming Traffic Signals
Costs of retiming traffic signals is roughly $2,500 per intersection.
Costs of retiming traffic signals in the Washington, DC area is about $3,500 per intersection.

Denver Regional Council of Governments Costs of Retiming Traffic Signals
Cost to retime each signal ranges from $1,800 to $2,000 which includes consultant time and DRCOG staff review time.