A $4m roundabout was seen as too costly.
Chris Allen, general manager Development Group, has said construction will begin on the upgrades on October 1, with completion due in December.
"Enabling works were due to start in September 2018 — we are looking at bringing this forward by one month due to the significance of the latest crash," Mr Allen said.
"Introducing a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to allow for enabling works will be required and will allow a reduction in speed limits."
The council is also consulting with the public on changing the speed limit permanently to 60km/h of that part of the Gordonton Rd corridor.
While construction on the traffic lights is still over two months away, council will continue to leave the intersection open, due to concerns over traffic buildup at alternative routes.
"We are concerned that by making all the traffic using this intersection take alternative routes we could end up with some situation where other locations become unsafe."
Hamilton city councillor Mark Bunting told the NZ Herald on Saturday that the traffic lights couldn't come soon enough.
"First of all when you come out into the intersection from Thomas Rd, you're sort of
sitting in the middle of the road already if you look at it from above," Mr Bunting said.
"Your perception is kind of a bit torn because you're actually looking head-on at these cars [on Gordonton Rd] and you don't have a perception of relativity or speed because they're coming straight toward you rather than across your vision.
"And secondly you're coming from a 50km/h zone going to an 80km/h zone so you assume other traffic is going as slow as you and you've got as much space and you haven't."
There have been 15 crashes at the site since January last year and four more since the variable speed signs were introduced up until February this year.
At least one other crash has been fatal.
"The bottom line is you put a temporary measure in and people get numb to it. It's like road cone blindness," Mr Bunting said.
"I was driving through that intersection yesterday and holy moly, people aren't slowing down even though it says 60, they're just ignoring it.
"People know it's not going to get enforced. That's why we've had to take such drastic structural measures."
Traffic at the intersection has increased in recent years because of the growth of the north Hamilton suburbs including Rototuna, Huntington, St James and the lifestyle blocks of Puketaha and Gordonton.
Chris Allen said council, as part of the 2018-28 10-year plan, approved funding for the Access Hamilton Transport Improvement Programme, which will be key to improving safety in the city.
"It looks at all intersections across the city and will enable us to accelerate work at those intersections that need immediate work, supporting the ever-changing travel demands of a growing city," Mr Allen said.
"We also have ongoing funding for upgrading other sites in Rototuna eg Resolution Dr connection to Waikato Expressway, Borman Rd connection to Kay Rd and North City Rd improvements."
