NEWS

Streetlight restoration efforts ramping up in Oklahoma City

William Crum
Mayor David Holt meets with law enforcement officials about streetlight repairs earlier this week. [Twitter image]

Law enforcement officials met in the mayor's conference room and the Public Works director briefed the Oklahoma City Council this week on progress to fix broken and damaged streetlights.

There are some 35,000 streetlights in Oklahoma City, most owned and maintained by OG&E, others owned by the city and maintained by the electric company.

Vandals and wire thieves are blamed for many disruptions.

Public Works Director Eric Wenger told the council that lighting along Interstate 40 from Portland Avenue to Council Road was back on.

Wire theft and issues with buried wire were responsible outages, he said.

Repairs are under way just south of downtown, on the S Robinson Avenue bridge and on Walker Avenue between SW 2 and SW 7, Wenger said.

He said highway lighting will be out for months, or perhaps more than a year, at the Interstate 235-Interstate 40 interchange for construction.

The work is a state Transportation Department project and, Wenger said, "The interchange will be dark."

Downtown, city crews had repaired 20 LED lights installed as part of Project 180. Contractors are being brought in the speed up that work, Wenger said.

City officials have promised to have streetlights across the city back in working order by the end of September.

Meanwhile, taxpayers continue to pay the light bill whether lights are working or not; there is no adjustment for an out-of-order light.