What Happened to Route 1 Traffic Lights

Traffic lights on Route 1 at two major intersections in Elkridge malfunctioned on Thursday at about 5:30 p.m.

Separate problems caused the malfunction of the signals on Route 1 at MD Route 175 and at Amberton Drive, according to the State Highway Administration (SHA).

For Amberton Drive, where the signal was still out Friday afternoon, the outage was an electrical problem, said Charlie Gischlar, spokesman for the SHA. He said that BGE was working on the signal Friday.

“There was an electrical supply malfunction from the power company…so it wasn’t receiving the voltage it needed to operate at full color capacity,” Gischlar said of the signal. “The technology reverted into flash mode, which is a great safety device—it alerts drivers ahead of time that yes, there’s a problem.”

Drivers should treat intersections with non-functioning traffic signals as four-way stops, according to traffic officials.

Gischlar cautioned drivers on Amberton Drive to take an extra look to the left before pulling out.

“Because Route 1 is such a busy road ... people on the side road should look left, look right and look left again,” Gischlar said. “Be cautious.”

The signal at Route 175 was operating on Friday. The cause of that signal outage was two burned-out red bulbs. Gischlar said the repair there was made Thursday evening by technicians.