A traffic signal at Ga. 365 and Howard Road is now flashing in test mode.

If weather permits and testing goes well, the signal will be operational the afternoon of Oct. 23, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The test mode alerts drivers that the signal will soon be operational and also allows the DOT to double-check the timing of the signal, DOT’s Hall County-based spokeswoman Teri Pope said.

“The computer that runs the traffic signal is actually cycling through as if it was operational, so they can check the timing ... and make sure it’s all going according to plan before we actually turn it on and make it live,” Pope said.

DOT has also placed multiple signs to alert motorists of the upcoming signal, including portable message signs that say new signal ahead.

Work on the signal began after public outcry over multiple wrecks at the intersection.

DOT had planned only flashing yellow lights and new lane striping because a study had shown the intersection did not meet any of the thresholds for installing a signal, officials said.

But public interest in the intersection heightened after an April 28 crash that killed Anna Hermansen of Clayton.

In a letter from the Hall County Board of Commissioners to the DOT, commissioners cited 14 crashes in that area in 2012.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s chief of staff, Chris Riley, and Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Director Harris Blackwood also expressed concerns about the intersection to DOT Commissioner Keith Golden.

Gainesville, the DOT and RaceTrac convenience store, which sits at the intersection, are all involved in the project.