Future improvements to traffic signals on Center Street in Warsaw are in the works, but changes will be implemented over the next few years because of costs, according to Jeff Beeler, superintendent of public works.

The city on Friday took the first step toward improving traffic signals at Center and Buffalo with an eventual plan that will improve signalization at 17 intersections, Beeler said.

The upgrade coincides with improvements eyed by Norfolk Southern and the state of Indiana that will result in enhanced traffic flow.

Signals along Center Street are “archaic” in that they cannot be manipulated to improve flow, Beeler said.

Traffic signals change from green to red and back to green based on the time of day.

“The ones in the downtown need changed and need changed now, but there is not enough money to do them all at once,” Beeler said.

On Friday, the board of works and public safety approved plans for Lawson-Fisher Associates of South Bend to provide design and engineering work on the intersection at Center and Buffalo streets. The cost is expected to be about $37,000.

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Construction bids for the intersection will be sought in September, and work could be done by the end of November, Beeler said.

Norfolk Southern is in the early stages of upgrading its crossing signals, which will then be able to communicate with traffic signals.

At the same time, Indiana Department of Transportation is working on a plan to upgrade traffic signals along Ind. 15, which intersects with Center Street in downtown Warsaw, but that won’t happen for at least two years.

Eventually, signals will be flexible enough to allow the city to:

• Accommodate changes in traffic flow shift changes for big employers like Zimmer Biomet.

• Adjust for activities such as festivals.

• Adapt when emergency vehicles are responding to a call.

• Adjust to flashing yellow lights when city crews are plowing certain streets.

Beeler declined to say exactly how much traffic flow will be improved within a few years, but described the change as “significant.”

In other matters the board:

• Approved an agreement with Michiana Area Council of Governments to join with other cities in the region to help pay for expertise in development bike paths. The city will provide $5,000 annually for three years.

• Approved a request to apply for grants with the K21 Health Foundation and Kosciusko County Convention Recreation and Visitors Commission to help pay for some of the costs associated with development of Rotary Park on the city’s west side.