Broken lights after 2021 FixSac99 project creating safety concerns
SACRAMENTO — It's been more than two years since Caltrans completed the FixSac99 project in south Sacramento that forced freeway drivers to detour for days, but neighbors say there's one part of the project that's already broken — and creating a danger for drivers and pedestrians.
People in this south Sacramento neighborhood feel like they're being left in the dark.
"Something needs to be done," said resident Christopher Mack.
That's because the lights inside the 21st Avenue underpass don't work, and this isn't a recent problem.
"It's been going on for over a year at this point," Mack said.
Neighbors there are concerned about how dark it gets under the bridge at night.
"Definitely at nighttime, it's pitch black and, especially on a bike, you never know what you're going to run into," said resident Justin Farren.
"With the lights out, there's been a lot of extra blight and graffiti," Mack said.
The underpass got a lot of attention back in June 2021 when Caltrans shut down both directions of Highway 99 for four days. Crews removed the old concrete bridge that passes overhead and replaced it with a new pre-fabricated deck.
Neighbors say the darkness began shortly after Caltrans crews left.
"Within weeks, the lights went out and they never came back on," Mack said.
Mack says he initially reached out to the City of Sacramento to get the lights fixed, and that's when the finger-pointing began.
"I got the response back from them and they told me it was Caltrans' responsibility," he said. "I talked to Caltrans. Caltrans told me it's the city's responsibility."
CBS13 reached out to both sides and got a similar response. But after we started asking questions this week, there may be a solution in sight.
The city said a maintenance crew began making repairs Wednesday morning, but they won't say when the lights will be back on.
"My feeling is it's just some lights, so whoever's responsibility it is, seems like they could just take care of it," Farren said.
Some are frustrated over the bureaucratic back and forth.
"I guess the thing that's most concerning is when they go out again, this shouldn't take another year to have fixed," Mack said.
Caltrans said vandalism and copper theft are the cause of the broken lights. Crews are also in the process of installing additional lighting at both entrances of the underpass.