QUESTION: On my way home recently and many nights before that, I noticed that the lights on the makai side of Kalanianaole Highway are all out, from Kalani High School to Aina Haina. It is a bit dark, and I am wondering, when will they be fixed?

ANSWER: The lights aren't expected to be on again until the end of March.

The “;really ancient”; lighting system along that stretch of Kalanianaole Highway just “;died”; on Feb. 1, said Tammy Mori, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

On the blink are 31 lights—27 in the eastbound direction and four westbound.

But there couldn't be a quick fix because the system is so old, there aren't parts available to repair the ones that fizzled out, Mori said. Consequently, a new system is being installed.

The cost is relatively low, about $9,000 for light fixtures and other materials, because the repair is being done in-house, but on weekends in order to get the lights back on as soon as possible, Mori said.

The Transportation Department's part of the project is expected to continue for another three Saturdays and completed at the end of the month, weather-permitting.

After that, Hawaiian Electric Co. will then make the final connections to its power grid by the end of March, Mori said.

“;In the meantime we're asking drivers to be extra-vigilant in that area because we realize it is dark,”; she said. “;We're asking them to drive with extra care.”;

One lane will be closed on Saturdays to accommodate the work.

QUESTION: The lights on the H-1 freeway west have been out for 2 1/2 to three years, since the copper thefts. But the copper thieves are now in jail, so I'm wondering if there are any plans to fix those lights.

ANSWER: There are no plans to do so.

As we explained a year ago (see hsblinks.com/1vf), the federal government does not require lights to be on in what's considered rural areas.

So, faced with funding problems and no requirement to have lighting in those areas, it will continue to be lights out for more than 15 miles of freeway, said transportation spokeswoman Tammy Mori.

Initially, the problem was with copper thieves. The recurrent theft of copper wiring from the light posts was costly, and “;we didn't want it to be replaced to be stolen again,”; she said.

The thieves have since been caught, but the second issue is that the freeway in question is classified a “;rural highway,”; where “;the federal requirements say it's safer to not have lights,”; Mori said.

“;It seems against logic to not have lights,”; but accident data has shown that the number of accidents has gone down when there are no lights in rural areas, she said.

But the third and “;major inhibitor”; is funding.

It would cost about $3 million to replace 15.3 miles of lights from “;Kunia stretch”; and the “;H-2 stretch,”; from the H-1/H-2 merge to Wahiawa, in both directions, Mori said.

And there would be no federal funding to tap into because the lights aren't “;federally required, so we wouldn't be able to get federal support.”;

There are higher-priority projects, such as road and bridge repairs, “;so we have to work on those things first,”; she said.