LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — A Lake County Commissioner is determined to “let there be light” along State Route 2.
This is a story News 5 has been following through on for more than one year.
RELATED: Lake Co. Route 2 lighting outages leave drivers, county commissioners with safety concerns
Drivers have been left in the dark as recurring outages take out streetlights, causing safety concerns. News 5 anchor Rob Powers spoke with the new Lake County Engineer, Alex Exley, back in February.
“The intent here is to do what’s in the best interest for the people of Lake County,” he said then.
After a few months had passed, News 5 reached out again to inquire about the progress in identifying the cause of the outages and finding a solution. We learned the problem and solution, and have gotten a lot bigger. It’s a problem drivers told Powers has been all too common.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Steven Babcock of Fairport Harbor.
Dillon Doughty from Madison worried about safety.
“If you can’t see, I mean something’s in the road, how are you gonna know?” he asked.
When we’ve driven the stretch of Route 2 that runs through Lake County, we’ve gone as long as half a mile without seeing a single lamp lit. So what will it take to get this fixed?
Exley said the replacement bulbs the county has been buying for burnt-out lights are no longer being manufactured. Now, all the lights from 615 to the western county line need new lighting heads to switch to LED. It’s a major upgrade. Powers spoke with Lake County Commissioner John Plecnik.
“Nearly 400 lights need to be replaced,” he said. 383, to be exact, according to Exley. Exley wasn’t able to provide a timeline for how long that might take. A detail that Plecnik isn’t satisfied with.
“I’m satisfied progress is being made,” he told Rob. “But I’m not satisfied until there’s a timeline.”
Exley told News 5 the next step is to form a team to chart the path forward. Part of that process involves determining who will be responsible for funding the project. Exley questioned whether ODOT bears any responsibility for this issue back in February. However, ODOT, just as it did the last time we asked in February, stated that this is up to the county.
A statement from ODOT spokesperson Brent Kovak reads:
“Anytime a State Route goes through a City, the City is responsible to maintain that route. Cities along SR 2 have an agreement with the Lake County Engineers to perform this work.”
That’s what Plecnik said, too.
“The cities have paid over the years for the Route 2 contract, so from their perspective, they’re already paid for those upgrades.”
We told you how Plecnik and other commissioners voted to subject the County Engineer’s office to a state audit. Plecnik said the results of that are expected by this August or September.
In the meantime, while a team is being built and funding is being figured out, drivers told Powers they just want to be able to see where they’re going.
“It puts people’s lives at risk, it does more to the community and everything else than just paying the money to fix it,” Babcock said.
“Fix the lights,” said Doughty. “It’s as simple as that.”
