Power surge blamed as traffic lights at Shrewsbury roundabout change too quickly

Motorists have reported the lights at Emstrey island, Shrewsbury, changing too quickly – leading to tailbacks to the Preston Boats roundabout on the A5.

It is believed that the fault has been caused by a power surge knocking out the timing sensors on the lights and returning them to a "safe" default setting.

Highways England was waiting for a specialist engineer to reprogramme the lights to a more suitable change rate.

A spokesman for Highways England explained the problem. He said: "The lights operate on a timed basis.

"At the minute they have transferred to a default system which mean they change more quickly than they should. We believe that a power surge has caused this to take place.

"It seems to have knocked the memory of the lights out of sync and they have reverted to a safe default setting.

"They are now running on a timed basis making it take longer for drivers to go through.

"We are waiting for a specialist engineer to visit the site who will be able to rectify the situation. At present they are operating in a safe mode. The lights are working but it is a bit of an inconvenience."

The problem with the lights followed a cabling problem last week that saw the traffic lights on the Emstrey island become stuck on red.

Delays were reported stretching back along the A5 and on to London Road.

The problem has since been dealt with, Highways England has said.

The island underwent a multi-million pound reconfiguration and redesign and only reopened earlier this year.

Meanwhile, traffic was also delayed yesterday after a car hit at lamp post on the A49.

The accident happened at 8.32am at Bayston Hill and left the Hereford Road partially blocked at Burgs Lane.

Traffic coming from the direction of Condover was also delayed. Shropshire Fire and Rescue attended the scene and made the car safe. No one was injured.