BLOOMINGTON - New signals and a large area of white striped paint seem to be confusing Twin City drivers as they make their way through a new intersection at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and White Oak Road.

For now, Bloomington police have been issuing informational brochures instead of tickets in an effort to help drivers understand how to legally cross the intersection.

However, the new intersection has two sets of signals for traffic heading east on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The first light, or the pre-signal, is timed to make drivers stop before a set of railroad tracks. If the driver is already in the white-striped area when the first light changes, a second light will allow them to clear the intersection, said Jim Karch, a city of Bloomington employee assigned to be the resident engineer for the project.

"The intent with the pre-signal is so people won't get trapped in that track area," Karch said.

Also prohibited is a right turn onto White Oak Road from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive when the lights are red.

"That will probably be the most innocent mistake drivers will make at this intersection because turning right on red is so common," Karch added.

Drivers will see no changes on three parts of the intersection: White Oak Road traffic and westbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Because the railroad tracks cross Martin Luther King Jr. Drive so close to the intersection, the intersection is under the control of Illinois Commerce Commission. The commission, which regulates railroads among other duties, required the new design to be used when the intersection was improved.

The new design was created for crossings with similar issues after a 1995 commuter train crashed into the back of a school bus that had not cleared the tracks at a suburban Chicago crossing.

The newly designed intersection is the first for Bloomington or Normal and is only one of five in the state, Bloomington police said.

Statewide, Karch said, drivers will start seeing more of this particular design as more intersections at railroad crossings are repaved and upgraded.

The total cost of upgrading the local intersection was roughly $1 million, Karch said. The city and McLean County paid about $50,000 each toward the cost, while the remainder came from federal highway funds.

"We know it's going to take drivers a little getting used to," said Bloomington Police spokesman David White.

White said Bloomington officers have not issued any tickets at that intersection. He did not know when they will start.

"Right now, we are focused on educating drivers and making sure they know how to get through the intersection without stopping in the white area," White said.