A signal malfunction caused major traffic backups at Gloucester Point last Thursday and Friday.

Kelly Hannon, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said Thursday that a temporary traffic signal at Route 17 and Lafayette Heights Road malfunctioned, causing delays for northbound motorists in Gloucester and York counties.

Virginia State Police assisted with traffic control in that corridor, Hannon said, while a VDOT contractor made repairs.

Nora Chivers, another VDOT spokesman, said Monday that the signal malfunctioned during the afternoon peak travel period last Thursday, with VDOT crews manually activating the signal throughout that night until repairs could be completed about midday Friday.

According to Chivers, crews checked and reset the hardware and software programming for the temporary signal system that serves the Route 17 intersections with Lafayette Heights and Camp Okee Drive.

The programming repairs also resulted in improved traffic timing an...