Shelby County can now begin asking for the state&8217;s blessing on a plan to limit traffic lights along U.S. 280, county engineer Randy Cole reported to the county commission Monday.

After months of delay, the town of Westover became the third municipality to sign a joint-resolution in support of an access management plan for the eastern stretch of the busy highway.

The plan calls for parallel service roads and greater distance between traffic lights, all in an effort to prevent the problems seen on the western portion of

280, such as heavy traffic in the Inverness area.

Cole said he planned to immediately begin discussions with Brian Davis, a division engineer with the Alabama Department of Transportation.

&8220;Brian has shown willingness to help us with this project,&8221; Cole said. &8220;Because U.S. 280 is a federal route, no access management plan could be implemented without [ALDOT&8217;s] blessing.&8221;

Chelsea and Harpersville adopted the access management resolution shortly after it was presented by the county.

Westover took longer to join in support, said Mayor Mark McLaughlin, because of concerns over prior agreements with property owners.

&8220;We just had to be sure it didn&8217;t negatively impact people who already had access and who we already had agreements with.&8221;