A temporary traffic light should be installed at the intersection of Homestead Road and Highway 160 by the end of May, Nye County Public Works Director Samson Yao told commissioners Tuesday.

Yao said Nye County submitted final drawings to the Nevada Department of Transportation last week. NDOT said a further review of the plans won't be necessary.

The cost of the temporary traffic light will be $454,000, Yao said, of which $154,000 won't be recovered for the permanent light.

"So $154,000 of the cost of installing the temporary light is going to be essentially wasted," Commissioner Joni Eastley said.

Yao said it's not a waste of tax dollars. He said the temporary traffic light will probably be at that intersection for a year or two years until a permanent one is constructed. That could prevent some accidents.

Yao expects to start going out for bids for the installation in a couple weeks. He confidently predicted, "We expect the completion of that project by the end or the middle of May of this year."

The traffic signal is probably the most anticipated traffic light in the state. Pahrump residents rejected an NDOT proposal to construct a roundabout at that intersection instead of a traffic signal back in 2006.

The state estimated the cost of building a permanent traffic signal at $1.4 million, during the approval of an inter-local agreement with Nye County in December 2006. Nye County amended a contract with PBS&J last August to add a $154,350 change order for the designing of a traffic signal and road improvements at the intersection.