West Virginia officials say repairs to lights along state-maintained roads in Kanawha County are in the works, after Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper announced Tuesday he had sent a letter to the West Virginia Department of Transportation asking the state to fix the non-working lights.
Carper said in a news release that C.W. Sigman, the county's director of homeland security and emergency management, had counted 135 lights out on Interstate 64 from Nitro to Marmet, Interstate 77 to the Edens Fork exit, Interstate 79 to the Mink Shoals exit, and the intersection of Kanawha Turnpike and Jefferson Road.
Carper said he sent a letter, citing safety concerns, to Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox and asked about the status of plans to fix the lights, as well as whether the state planned to put signs in accident-prone areas.
In a phone interview, Carper said lights were out in some areas for several months, if not a year. He said he used to give the excuse that the lights weren't under control of the county, but then decided he could do more.
"I at least have the ability to get those responsible to do their job," he said.
He acknowledged that the problem is likely not unique to Kanawha County, but said the interstates make the problem worse here.
"When you hit a pothole, you know this is bad," he said. "When you're on the road and you can't see, that's every bit as bad or worse."
In response to the press release, DOT spokeswoman Carrie Jones said some of the lights in between South Charleston and the West Virginia Turnpike are over 40 years old and not repairable.
She said $12 million in renovation projects are planned for lighting along the Charleston interstate system over the next few years, including a $6.9 million project, awarded Sept. 30, for Kanawha Turnpike-Fort Hill and scheduled for completion in summer 2018.
She said contract plans for the West Virginia Turnpike-Capitol Street Area, roughly the 100 mile marker, are still being completed, and Capitol Street-Interstate 77, mile marker 104 just south of Edens Fork, should be completed by spring of 2017.
She also said the DOT put truck tipping signs and warning chevrons along Interstate 64 eastbound in Institute in November of 2015, and plans to put high-friction surface treatment on Interstate 64 in the area of the 49 and 50 mile markers by May of 2017.
Reach Erin Beck at 304-348-5163, erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.