It's business as usual on Highway 168 but when darkness falls, something drivers have come to depend on will be missing.
"Whenever that street light is not there it is definitely missed and it goes towards the overall safety factor of driving on the freeway," said Jose Camarena with Caltrans.
Camarena says fewer working lights on a portion of Highway 168 between Temperance and Shepherd is the most concerning part of this weekend's copper theft. He says more than seven thousand feet of wire was taken and it will take weeks and thousands of dollars to fix all the damage.
"Tens of thousands of dollars, copper wire theft is something that costs us millions of dollars each year," said Camarena.
Copper theft has risen in recent years and Sgt. Michael Chapman with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office attributes part of it to how tough it is to prevent.
"Copper wire, once they remove the casing there is no real easy way to identify it. So they aren't going to bring it in long pieces they are going to cut it in to strips so it is less easy to be identified," said Chapman.
In addition to street lamps, irrigation systems and traffic detectors were also affected by the recent theft. And until Caltrans determines the best way to protect the wiring it will likely remain that way.
"We don't want to just replace the wiring and have it come up missing a few days down the road," said Camarena.
"Whenever that street light is not there it is definitely missed and it goes towards the overall safety factor of driving on the freeway," said Jose Camarena with Caltrans.
Camarena says fewer working lights on a portion of Highway 168 between Temperance and Shepherd is the most concerning part of this weekend's copper theft. He says more than seven thousand feet of wire was taken and it will take weeks and thousands of dollars to fix all the damage.
"Tens of thousands of dollars, copper wire theft is something that costs us millions of dollars each year," said Camarena.
Copper theft has risen in recent years and Sgt. Michael Chapman with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office attributes part of it to how tough it is to prevent.
"Copper wire, once they remove the casing there is no real easy way to identify it. So they aren't going to bring it in long pieces they are going to cut it in to strips so it is less easy to be identified," said Chapman.
In addition to street lamps, irrigation systems and traffic detectors were also affected by the recent theft. And until Caltrans determines the best way to protect the wiring it will likely remain that way.
"We don't want to just replace the wiring and have it come up missing a few days down the road," said Camarena.