Letter to the Editor – Traffic Lights

Dear Editor:
I know that I may be a little slow in my thinking sometimes and I’m asking for help on this one.
Can anyone explain to me why MoDOT spent over a quarter of a million dollars for a traffic light at the junction of Highways 5 and 14 in Ava, Missouri? To me, the old lights worked fine for several years in a town of roughly 3,000 people.
In the Douglas County Herald’s front page article published Aug. 2, 2012, the headline reads “New Signals at 5 & 14 Junction Features Flashing Yellow Arrows.” And, goes on to say, “Will help increase efficiency during off-peak times” in the article. It seems to me that “off-peak” would have already set “increased efficiency” into motion…there is no traffic.
I have lived in the area for many years and even before the so-called new 5 highway was built. Maybe I’m just an old geezer without a cluecard, but I didn’t see a traffic problem that needed to be addressed. After all, this isn’t Atlanta, it’s Ava, Missouri.
Is MoDOT so blessed with their financial resources that they can “blow” this kind of money ($227,000) on a traffic light and at the same time can’t or don’t maintain these rural state roads?
Or, could it be that the state received some of the “givernment (government) money from Washington, D.C. and MoDOT had to find a place to spend it?
Oh, one more thing, I’m not finished yet. Can MoDOT recycle, reuse or could it be sold to a “third world country”  to be used as a starting light for a field and track event? Just wondering.
Please, would someone help me out on these issues.
Ray Cunningham
Ava, Missouri