The Operations Branch, headed by Assistant Director Jeff Weatherford, P.E., PTOE, is responsible for the engineering operations of traffic signals and maintenance of signals, school zone flashers, street signs, freeway lights & under bridge lights, pavement markings, etc. The branch's ~ 175 employees are divided between the Traffic Maintenance Group, located at Patterson St. & Dalton St., and the Signal Engineering & Operations Group and Mobility Response Team Section, both based at Houston TranStar. The Branch encourages all issues with traffic control devices, from signs with graffiti to signal timing problems, be reported to 311.

Traffic Maintenance Group | Signal Operations Group
Mobility Response Team

Traffic Maintenance Group
Led by PWE Maintenance Manager Steve Uren, the Traffic Maintenance Group is based at Patterson, with the Freeway Lighting group operating out of Dalton.

Superintendents & section responsibilities…

Freeway Lighting & Signal Construction
Walter Lafnette – Electrical Superintendent
Freeway Lighting (Dalton) is responsible for maintenance of all of Houston’s freeway and under bridge lighting fixtures. Signal Construction (Patterson) handles all internally completed traffic signal or school zone related construction projects, including cutting new traffic signal loops and emergency maintenance (ex. replacing damaged signal poles). This section assists with preventive maintenance and trouble calls as necessary.

Pavement Marking Maintenance
Richard Perez – General Superintendent
Maintains pavement markings along the City’s streets, including more than 9,300 crosswalks, 8,000 stop lines and thousands of miles of linear lane lines. Each of these crosswalks and stop lines must be refreshed every three years. Considering the extensive system of lane lines throughout the City, resources are focused on re-striping major roadways. However, any citizen request for re-striping lines will be investigated and scheduled for maintenance as necessary. This section assists the Traffic Control Signing Section as necessary.

Traffic Control Signing
Wesley Deshotel – P.W. Maintenance Section Chief
Responsible for all of Houston’s traffic control signing (more than one million signs), including maintenance, installation, and manufacturing (25,000 new signs annually). Additionally, this section supports hundreds of parades and special events throughout the year. Current major projects include the School Coordination Program and Neighborhoods to Standards Signing Program, as well as support of the Quiet Zones Program.

Traffic Signal Maintenance
Gary Davis – Electrical Superintendent
Traffic Signal Maintenance performs preventive maintenance checks on all traffic signals, school zone flashers, and other hazard beacons.  Preventive maintenance is the foundation upon which all traffic signal operations lie and is the single most important task necessary to the operation of a safe and efficient traffic signal system.  This section assists with trouble calls and minor construction projects as necessary.

Traffic Signal Trouble
David Wooten – Senior Electrical Superintendent
Operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, responsibilities include responding to traffic signal complaints, including light outages, timing problems, & emergency situations like signals on flash or out of service (no power). This section is also responsible for preparing new signal controller cabinets for installation, as well as assisting with preventive maintenance, school zone flashers, and minor construction projects as necessary.

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Signal Operations Group
The Signal Operations Group, overseen by Assistant Director Jeff Weatherford, P.E., PTOE, is based at Houston TranStar.

Supervising Engineers & section responsibilities…

Capital Improvement Programs (CIP) & ITS
Michael Wahl, P.E.
Responsible for in-house ITS and traffic signal design, School Zone flasher operations, CIP planning, project management, plan review and construction inspection. CIP & ITS consists of engineers, analysts, and construction inspectors. Current projects include the management of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) projects, the development of an Master Transportation Communication Plan and an ITS Strategic Plan, Accessible Pedestrian Devices and the update of Standard Drawings and Specifications.

Signal Operations
Keti Hristova, P.E., PTOE
Oversees all traffic signal operations within the City, including those along TxDOT facilities. Signal Operations responds to citizen complaints over signal timing and requests for new signals and signal modifications such as protected left turn phasing (left turn arrows). This section also assists with plan review for CIP and developer projects, as well as Accessible Pedestrian Device investigations. Signal Operations consists of engineers and senior traffic signal timing technicians. Major projects include the continuation of TSTOP (Traffic Signal Timing Optimization Program) and the development of new traffic signal timing plans for Downtown Houston.

For additional information regarding programs managed by the Signal Operations Group, see the Programs & Projects page.

For information regarding RFQs, see the Construction Projects Page.

Mobility Response Team
The MRT Section, provisionally led by Supervising Engineer Keti Hristova, P.E., PTOE, and based at Houston TranStar, is a joint project between the Public Works and Engineering (PWE) Department and the Houston Police Department (HPD) and the realization of an idea to help alleviate congestion from Mayor Bill White. Using resources in place (such as Houston TranStar & 311), PWE staff locate traffic bottlenecks throughout the City. Civilian Mobility Response Officers with HPD are dispatched to provide manual traffic control at congestion hot spots. PWE engineers or technicians are dispatched to evaluate potential improvements in signal timing and operations. While the team’s primary focus is inside of the loop, they will be available throughout the City. The MRT began full operations on July 1, 2007 and operates throughout the day covering both the morning and evening rush hours (6am – 10pm, Monday through Friday).
Mission Statement: Quickly and effectively identify and mitigate hot spots of traffic congestion.

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