Thousands of Charlotte-area interstate lights still not fixed

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of thousands of Charlotte-area drivers ride home on interstates that are dangerously dark. The North Carolina Department of Transportation said it would fix broken street lights, but thousands have yet to be replaced.

"They need to fix it. It's a problem. I use 77 at night and I'm like I can barely see. I almost ran into one of the guard rails and the barriers because of all the construction that's going on," driver Francesca Evans told Channel 9.

Evans said she has to drive down the interstate with her high beams on just to see where she's going.

"It's like riding on a country road or back street. It shouldn't be like that," said another driver Byron Crawford.

NCDOT knows the lack of lighting is a safety problem, so they promised back in October that they'd replace all the street lights by March. Now, it's saying it isn't going to happen for another three or four months.

We've learned the reason for the delay. NCDOT doesn't think their contractors' plans are safe enough for the drivers who will be driving past the work at night, so now they're making them draft new safety plans.

NCDOT is asking for patience while their contractors prepare to fix the lights. They still need to replace more than 2,000.

The $31 million project is now expected to last until the end of summer.

"In the end result, people are going to get hurt. There are going to be more accidents until they fix the problem," said driver Rodney Guy.

Whenever contractors start replacing the lights, they will have to shut down some lanes overnight.

Cox Media Group