Town officials investigate faulty traffic light in Apex

APEX (WTVD) -- A faulty traffic light in Apex has town officials scrambling to try and rectify the problem.

Traffic engineers, the state, and a traffic signal company are all trying to figure out why a new light at a busy intersection is malfunctioning.

Those who live in the area of Kelly Road and Olive Chapel Road say it's caused several accidents.

Residents said the light will sometimes flash yellow to one side of the light, while also flashing red to the other side.

But that isn't the only problem. Some have posted online that the left turn arrow will sometimes be green and flashing yellow at the same time.

One person, who was hit at the light, said the man who slammed into him reported the light changing from yellow to green.

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According to an Apex police report, the contractor that installed the new light, changed out the control box Tuesday afternoon.

Fortunately, Olive Chapel Elementary, which is adjacent to the intersection, has been on break.

But the year-round school starts back up in a week and that has some residents worried.

"The biggest fear is that a worse accident can happen," said Tina Holder, referring to an accident her husband recently had at the intersection. "And more concerning is school sessions going in and that is a major crosswalk for people taking their kids to school and picking them up. There are constantly pedestrians at that intersection and that is very concerning that something worse can happen."

Town officials are hopeful that the new control panel will fix the problem.

In the meantime, authorities want to remind residents that if a light is flashing red, you have to wait until it's safe to cross or turn, as drivers on the other side, who have a flashing yellow light, have the right of way.