Ironic Paper Clip Caused Traffic Signals Glitch

Traffic signals that went haywire at Ashland, Wisconsin's busiest intersection over Memorial Day weekend left technicians stymied as they hunted for the cause.

The malfunction reverted the signals at Ellis Avenue and Lakeshore Drive to a default mode, only flashing yellow and red. They stayed that way for five days as the problem went unsolved.

The signals had gone out the same way in the past, but only after accidents when vehicles hit one of the poles. There was no accident involved this time and the problem left the staff clueless.

When city crews gave up and finally called in the state Department of Transportation for help, an official spotted a small paper clip that had fallen behind the control panel for the signals.

Pat Colgrove, city operation manager, said the wayward clip had simply shorted out the system. "I was shocked", he said. "I said, 'You got to be kidding me'". When the clip was removed and the system was reset, the signals resumed normal operations, Colgrove said.

Ironically, the paper clip that fell had been used to hold a card with names and phone numbers of technicians who maintain the signals.

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