Updated, Wednesday, 11:20 a.m.: The intersection of Ga. Highway 212 and Oak Hill Road finally has a traffic signal, but it won't be fully operational until 10 a.m. on May 24, weather permitting.

In the meantime, the signal will flash yellow on Ga. 212 and flash red on Oak Hill Road to give drivers a chance to become accustomed to the presence of the signal, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Original Story, Feb. 2: Work began Monday to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Ga. Highway 212 and Oak Hill Road, and the project should be completed by late May, County Administrative Assistant John Middleton said Tuesday,

The Newton County Board of Commissioners in October approved a $106,548 bid from Moye Electric of Dublin, to install the signal. Federal stimulus money paid for the project.

The signal is expected to help reduce traffic accidents on a heavily-traveled stretch of road that has also seen the recent additions of a public library and park. The intersection has been the site of several fatal accidents. Former District 2 Commissioner Earnest Simmons had called the intersection a "death trap."

The traffic signal would remain in place five to 10 years, until the state pays for a permanent solution, Chairman Kathy Morgan said previously.

The state plans eventually to widen Ga. 212 from the Oak Hill intersection south to Bethany Road. However, the state pulled funding from that project in 2008, and the project has been delayed to 2013 at the earliest, former County Engineer Kevin Walter said.