HALLSVILLE -- It's a right of passage for a small town and it often means the rural has become the suburban.

Monday morning, MoDOT activated the very first stoplight in Hallsville, Missouri.

Some locals question whether the signal necessary, while officials say it's time.

MoDOT workers morning removed the four-way stop signs at the intersection of Routes B and OO and Highway 124. They were the last vestige of a traffic control system that some say had outlived its usefulness.

"As I come to work in the morning, a lot of times I have to creep up to the stop sign and to be able to just keep on moving is gonna be a great benefit," said Bank Manager Linda Crigler.

The Boone County National Bank is one of a dozen businesses that sit at an intersection now steady with traffic. Exiting the storefront parking here can be tricky.

"Sometimes, you might have to wait five minutes, said Glynda Durk of M&M Print Work. “It just depends on whether you have a nice neighbor that says, ‘go ahead, get in front of me.’"

MoDOT says 12,000 cars a day now pass through the intersection. Most of it flows north and south, as people commute from Hallsville and Centralia to Columbia.

"All of you that live here know that it's an issue of morning rush hour,” said District Highway Engineer Roger Schwartze. “People headed south ...and, in the evening, it's a lot of people comin' back."

 When school lets out in Hallsville, the east-west flow picks up. The new stoplights will be controlled by smart technology. Cameras will monitor traffic flow and trigger the lights as needed.  The state spent $62,000 to make the transition.

"Ya know, that may seem like a lot of money, but the convenience and the safety that provides this community ...I tell ya, it's so worth it,” said Republican Sen. Kurt Schaefer from Boone County.    

Next summer, MoDOT will add crosswalk controls for pedestrians at the Route B intersection.

Police officers in Hallsville expect it will take some time for motorists to get used to the signals-to actually wait for a green light before proceeding.

Highway engineers say it can be difficult for drivers to break old habits, even when signals are there to direct them.