Traffic lights computer fails

Friday, Oct. 8, 1999 | 11:03 a.m.

The computer system controlling traffic lights malfunctioned this morning, causing traffic lights in the central part of the Las Vegas Valley to malfunction.

"They all still changed colors, but they were released from a coordinated operation," Gerry de Camp, systems director for the Traffic Department, said. "The lights up and down Las Vegas Boulevard to downtown operated independently."

The crash occurred at 8 a.m. and the system was down until shortly after 9 a.m., de Camp said.

He said the problem probably caused traffic problems at a lot of intersections.

"But it could have been worse. It could have happened in the middle of rush hour," he said, noting that this morning's problem was at the end of the busiest traffic period.

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