When strong winds caused a power outage in parts of Santa Clarita Friday night, the traffic signal on Seco Canyon Road and Copper Hill Drive was out for three days.
As of 9 a.m. Monday, the stop light was restored by city workers, City Communications Manager Carrie Lujan said.
“The appropriate staff learned of the issues upon arriving to work early Monday morning and were able to complete repairs shortly thereafter,” Lujan said in an email response to The Signal. “Staff will continue to look for ways to enhance their awareness of these types of signal outages to avoid similar issues into the future.”
Until then, the city took precautions in the meantime by setting up temporary stop signs.
“Stop signs were put up Friday evening to ensure safety,” Lujan said.
Power was restored in the area Saturday morning, according to Lujan. When power went back on, the stop lights were flashing.
Santa Clarita’s traffic signals have a communications system that notifies staff of malfunctions at all times.
The system usually sends automated alerts when there are issues, but the controller was compromised when the power went out, Lujan said.
City traffic engineers believe the power surge fried the traffic controller, she said.
“Unfortunately, Friday evening’s power outage damaged the traffic signal controller and its ability to send out these automatic alerts,” Lujan said. “Fortunately, this type of damage is very rare.”
To report a malfunctioning traffic signal, call the city at (661) 286-4014 during business hours and (626) 458-4357 during non-business hours.
661-287-5525
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