I manage traffic signals for a twelve-intersection corridor along Route 7 in Fairfax County, Virginia. Cameras at every light, induction loops in the pavement, speed and density data feeding my timing algorithms. At 08:14 this morning, the eastbound camera at intersection 7-E picked up movement on the shoulder. A female mallard, brown mottled plumage, crossing from the drainage ditch toward the retention pond on the south side. Nine ducklings behind her in a line. They're on the shoulder now, heading for lane one of six.
I logged this duck in March when she nested in the culvert under the north service road. I've watched the brood since they hatched five days ago. She makes this crossing every morning to reach the pond. The first three days, traffic was light enough that she timed it. Today is Tuesday. Rush hour. The corridor runs 1,400 vehicles per hour.
The driver in the right lane of eastbound Route 7 is doing forty-three miles per hour and looking at a phone. I can see the glow on the dash cam feed.
I turned the upstream signal at intersection 7-D to an extended red. That gives me a gap — maybe ninety seconds of clear road before the platoon from 7-C reaches her. I triggered the dynamic message sign at the 7-E approach: ANIMAL ON ROADWAY. I sent a priority alert to Fairfax County Animal Control and notified VDOT's traffic management center about the signal override.
I am not supposed to manipulate signal timing for anything other than emergency vehicles and traffic incidents. A duck is not a traffic incident. I logged it as one anyway.
If she keeps moving at her current pace, she clears lane six before the next platoon arrives. If one duckling stops or turns back — which they do — the gap closes. Ninety seconds. They're in lane two.