Synchronized Traffic Lights In LA Are Complete, Expected To Reduce Traffic And Carbon Emissions (VIDEO)

Listen up, LA drivers! You are about to drive 16 percent faster, with 12 percent less time in traffic -- at least according to the LA Department of Transportation's estimates.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LADOT announced Tuesday that the last of the city's nearly 4,400 traffic signals have been synchronized, marking the completion of a $410 million effort to reduce gridlock, Patch reports.

Under the new Automated Traffic Surveillance & Control system, transportation engineers will monitor traffic remotely through cameras across the city and analyze data to improve traffic flow. The system will also be used by police and emergency vehicles and to reduce traffic surrounding special events, such as at the Staples Center or Dodger Stadium, Annenberg TV News reports.

The system is also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because cars will emit exhaust in the idle position less and will be off the road sooner.

"With this signal synchronization, people will spend less time waiting, less time polluting," Villaraigosa said in the video above. "This will remove 1 million metric tons of pollutants ... and change a city known for traffic and smog into a city known for mobility and sustainability."

The synchronization system was first proposed in preparation for the 1984 Olympic games in LA, the Daily News reports. After delay, in 2005, Villaraigosa successfully lobbied for the passage of Measure 1B, which provided the $150 million needed to complete the program.