CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper says there’s a “serious safety hazard” on the interstates running through the county.
Carper sent a letter to state Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox asking Mattox to have the West Virginia Department of Transportation repair street lights that are out on the interstates.
Carper says the interstate system in the Kanawha Valley was designed with road lights for safety.
“That’s why they’re there,” Carper said. “They were put there for safety. Besides just the paving, the lights are critical.”
There are at least 135 lights out that need to be repaired, according to Kanawha County Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management C.W. Sigman.
Sigman reported lights out along Interstate 64 from Nitro to Marmet, Interstate 77 to the Edens Fork exit and Interstate 79 to the Mink Shoals exit. Also, lights were not working at the Kanawha Turnpike and Jefferson Road intersection.
In the letter, Carper requested Mattox to update him on the status of the contract to repair the lights and any other information regarding the light repairs.
“I have made overtures. I have have had direct conversations with them, but this is the first time I made it clear as I did this time. Even I was surprised to see the extent of it when you put it down on paper,” Carper said.
Carper said he’s been bringing this issue to the DOT’s attention for some time now.
“They’re going to tell us they lead some contracts and they’re working on it,” Carper said. “Let’s make this real clear. If this was a Christmas tree, it’d get an F grade.”
Carrie Jones, spokesperson for the state DOT, said some of the lights are more than 40 years old and can’t be repaired. She said they have renovation projects planned for lighting along Charleston’s interstates these next few years, totaling $12 million.