City of Tulsa fixing highway lights

The City of Tulsa is starting to fix some of the lights on the highways around town. Some people say it is long overdue because those dark stretches of highway can be dangerous.

Q: What's the City of Tulsa doing about the highway lights?

A: The City of Tulsa is starting to fix some of the lights on the highways around town. They’re focusing on areas where stretches of highway have been dark, which many drivers say can be dangerous.

Q: How many highway lights does the city manage?

A: The City of Tulsa manages around 6,000 highway lights. They've already installed lights along I-44 in the city and are currently working on the lights on Highway 169.

Q: What do local drivers think about the lights?

A: Drivers like Brian Osburn and Keenan Ferrier say the dark highways can be a real distraction and can lead to dangerous situations.

Q: Can you give an example of a situation where dark highways caused a problem?

A: Keenan Ferrier says he was driving at night this week when another driver cut him off. Ferrier believes the driver couldn't see him clearly, possibly due to a lack of lighting.

Q: How does Keenan Ferrier feel about the improvements?

A: Ferrier, who drives in the dark every day for work, says he's happy to see the lights being fixed. He believes the quicker the lights are repaired, the safer the roads will be.

Q: What is the City of Tulsa's plan to fix the lighting?

A: The city is in the process of converting all highway lights to LED, which started in July 2024. They’re doing this using funding from the latest PSO franchise agreement.

Q: Why is the lighting system being replaced?

A: According to Terry Ball from the City of Tulsa's Public Works Department, the infrastructure is old, and copper theft has worsened things. While the immediate conversion to LED is helping, a long-term fix for the system is still needed.

Q: What will the next step be after the LED lights are installed?

A: Terry Ball says the next step will be a control system that can monitor and control the lighting levels. If something goes wrong, like a wire being cut or a pole being knocked down, the system will send an alarm and dispatch the police.

Q: Are there specific times when lights are more likely to go out?

A: The City of Tulsa says winter is the second most common time for outages, but spring takes the top spot due to frequent lightning strikes.

Q: How can people report lights that are out?

A: People can report any lights that are out by calling the 311 system.