ASHLAND, Wis. (AP) — Traffic signals that went haywire at the city's busiest intersection over Memorial Day weekend left technicians stymied for five days until state experts discovered the cause: a wayward paper clip.The malfunction reverted the signals at Ellis Avenue and Lakeshore Drive to a default mode, flashing yellow and red. Typically, the signals only go out after accidents in which a vehicle hits one of the poles, but there had been no such crash.
When city crews finally called in the state Department of Transportation for help, a DOT official spotted the culprit — a paper clip had fallen behind the signal's control panel and shorted out the system. Ironically, the paper clip had been used to hold a card with names and phone numbers of technicians who maintain the signals, said Pat Colgrove, city operation manager.
"I was shocked," he said. "I said, 'You got to be kidding me."'