CLEVELAND, Ohio — A local safety activist is once again speaking out.
He's calling for an immediate fix to one of the more dangerous portions of the highway here in Cleveland.
Several lights are out and have not been fixed for weeks, in the area of Dead Man's Curve.
It's where the Innerbelt Freeway intersects with the Shoreway.
Drivers notoriously say how challenging it is to drive Dead Man's Curve at any given time.
But they say the lack of lights is making it even worse.
Now, Cleveland Public Power is working on a full-scale fix after News 5 got involved and asked why there are so many broken lights in the area.
Drivers around the area say enough is enough.
"It's wild," Stefani Smith of Cleveland said.
"Very frustrating. Very frustrating," Tony Alvares of Cleveland said.
They say their stomachs turn every time they approach Dead Man's Curve.
"That's really scary. I mean that's one of the most dangerous corners in the city. People go really fast," David Kachadourian of Cleveland said.
Now that there are several lights out, all in a row, they try to avoid it altogether.
"We should probably have lights on the highway," Smith said.
"Doesn't make sense. Doesn't make sense. Make some change about it," Alvares said.
The biggest problem spot is the immediate area of Dead Man's Curve. Drivers say they are in the dark.
Our camera captured at least 10 lights not working, and they claim they have been that way for weeks.
"Cold, dead. Out. Dark," Robert S. Carillio, Quality of Life and Safety Advocate, said.
Back in November of 2023, we highlighted the lack of lights.
RELATED: Cleveland Dead Man's Curve underpasses left in darkness, drivers report lighting issues
Carillio contacted News 5 to alert us about the persistent issue.
"Problematic. You have a lot of people driving extremely fast through that area and the last thing they need is to have a lack of lighting in that area," Carillio said.
News 5 got to work.
We reached out to ODOT to ask what the issue was.
However, it turns out the lights are not theirs.
A spokesperson redirected us to Cleveland Public Power.
I reached out to CPP multiple times for comment.
A CPP spokesperson eventually released the following statement, stating that they are aware of the issue.
"Cleveland Public Power is working on repairing outages along Route 2 and Dead Man’s Curve. Lighting along the Route 2 bridge was repaired last week, along with some of the lights along Route 2 near the Muni Lot. Lighting repairs on Route 2 and Dead Man’s Curve must be coordinated with other agencies for the safety of the crews and drivers. To mitigate risk and help prevent reduction in traffic flow scheduling during the weekend is preferred. Repairs to the remaining lights in this area will be completed soon.
Street lighting is important to CPP and our crews regularly patrol and repair lighting issues throughout the City. Residents are encouraged to call our automated reporting line at 216-621-5483 to report street lighting issues."
However, some drivers say the repeated outages should not keep happening.
They're hopeful the issue is resolved quickly.
"Fix the lights. That's it," Smith said.
"Somebody's gotta take responsibility cause if nobody takes responsibility. It's every responsibility," Kachadourian said.
News 5 promises to keep Follow-Through on the ongoing lighting issues and outages.
We will track repair efforts and continue to update this story.
