PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Thousands of drivers travel Route 2 in Lake County daily, and for years, stretches of that highway have gone dark. It’s a problem that local officials are now working together to fix.
Steve Zienka works in sales and travels highways across Northeast Ohio. He said he had noticed the lighting failures firsthand.
“When it’s dark it’s a safety hazard,” said Zienka.
We have been following the lights-out problem on Route 2 for years.
RELATED: Lake Co. Route 2 lighting outages leave drivers, county commissioners with safety concerns
Now, Mentor, Willoughby, Wickliffe, Willowick and Eastlake, along with Lake County, have joined forces to turn the lights back on.
Officials formed a committee to coordinate the effort.
Part of the problem, according to Lake County engineer Alan Exley, is that replacement parts and bulbs are no longer available.
"You can't just take out an old bulb and put in a LED bulb. You have to replace the entire lighting head,” Exley said.
Exley has been working to find a way to fund the $1.6 million project. That includes reusing existing poles and wiring to keep costs down. He also applied for a grant to help pay for the project.
Each city has committed funding to the project, according to Assistant Mentor City Manager Robert Fowler.
"We're all trying to resolve the issue collectively,” said Fowler. “We’re trying to work collaboratively to make this situation better for all of our residents."
