Glitch in warning system

Oamaru motorists were left confused yesterday as the Humber St bridge height warning signs inadvertently flashed "stop" and "over height" for most of the afternoon.

The malfunction was a system fault in the northbound sign, part of the $70,000 laser safety system installed in August to avoid further crashes at the bridge.

It was the latest in several faults in the past few weeks.

Waitaki District Council roading manager Mike Harrison said he was notified of the problem just before 2pm, and contractors were on site to rectify the issue.

The safety system was relatively new, and while Mr Harrison wanted a robust system, a few "hiccups" had been expected.

"Anything with electronics is prone to something like this," Mr Harrison said.

A road closure to fix the fault was not required, and work was expected to be finished by the end of yesterday, he said.