Due to increased traffic and complaints by motorists, a temporary light is set to become operational Monday at the intersection of Route 35 and Whites Bridge Road in Standish.

According to Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, the new light will be operational until repairs to Whites Bridge near Route 302 are completed around Memorial Day. And, according to Standish Town Manager Gordon Billington, a permanent signal could be erected “if the experience is positive.”

That is welcome news to college students and employees who use Whites Bridge Road daily to get to the school. They say making a left from Whites Bridge Road onto Route 35, with its 50 mph speed limit, can be time-consuming at best and perilous at worst, with a slight elevation rise on the Standish side of the intersection causing sight limitations.

“It’s a very dangerous intersection. I saw a car almost get T-boned by a huge truck there last year,” said Megan Devitt, president of the Commuters Club at the college. She and other commuters are looking forward to the relative safety a traffic signal could provide.

“Students definitely think it’s a necessary precaution. As long as it’s not a long wait, people seem to be for it,” said DeVitt, a senior sociology major who commutes from Raymond.

According to Latti, “maximum green times” for the light are as follows: The light will remain green for motorists traveling west toward Sebago Lake Village on Route 35 for a maximum of 31 seconds. The light will stay green for Windham-bound commuters on Route 35 for 43 seconds. And for those coming out of Whites Bridge Road and taking a left onto Route 35, the light will stay green for a maximum of 16 seconds.

If all goes well, Latti confirmed that the light could stay operational even after Whites Bridge reopens on Memorial Day.

Standish councilor and Whites Bridge Road resident Lou Stack looks forward to the signal, which has been in place but covered for about a month.

“It should be helpful,” he said. “It should ease the traffic problem.”

Likewise, Lynn Brown, dean of student life at Saint Joseph’s College, said, “I think it’s great, especially for those turning left onto Route 35; that’s always a concern.” She has noticed traffic increase over the years and has witnessed close calls from people in a hurry to get to work or school.

“You’ve got three entrances right there that make it difficult: Whites Bridge Road, Standish Neck Road and Patch’s Variety,” Brown said. “People rely on their driving judgment, but having a light might make it a little safer.”

Rick Cummings, owner of Patch’s, is withholding judgment until the light is in place.

“I don’t know if it’ll help me or hurt me. We’ll wait and see,” he said.

Through talking with customers, Cummings says people on Whites Bridge Road are “happy with it because it’ll be easier to get out. And as long as it’s a quick light, it’ll be all right. If it’s not, it’ll back traffic up quite a bit.”

Standish resident Joe Henderson, who was eating lunch at Patch’s last week, was in a serious head-on automobile accident on Route 35 closer to Sebago Lake Village several years ago. He said Route 35 traffic has “doubled” since Whites Bridge was closed in September. He doesn’t like the idea of having to stop while traveling Route 35, “because any light is a pain in the ass, but I’d rather have it than die.”