MONROE - Traffic lights at the intersection of 8th Street and 4th Avenue West will be blinking red until the city figures out how to fix a software or electrical glitch.

"If we knew what was wrong with them, they wouldn't be flashing," said Tom Boll, supervisor of the Streets and Sanitation Department.

The intersection's stoplights normally blink yellow and red only late at night when traffic is sparse. They started malfunctioning a couple of weeks ago and have been blinking at other times throughout the day, Boll said.

The intersection's blinking lights may have confused at least one driver already. Chief of Police Fred Kelley said a T-bone collision in the intersection at about 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, resulted in Jeffrey J. Jamieson, 62, Monroe, being cited for failure to yield right-of-way at a blinking red signal. No one was injured, Kelley said.

Jamieson entered the intersection from the south on 4th Avenue West and collided with a westbound truck on 8th Street driven by Michael A. Krebs, 68, Monroe.

The impact of the collision propelled Jamieson's car into a traffic signal, knocking it down.

Krebs had a yellow blinking light and Jamieson had a red blinking light, Kelley said.

As a caution to drivers, city workers have since set it so both the east/west lights and north/south lights blink red.

For more information on the signal change, call the Streets and Sanitation Department at 608-329-2490.