BUFFALO, N.Y. — The I-190 is one of the busiest highways in Western New York and folks like Ray Halm use it daily.
"To and from work for the last 34 years," said Halm.
Halm commutes from Orchard Park in the dark early hours of the morning and in recent years something has been off.
"Me and my wife said why is it so dark? And we never realized all the lights were gone," he exclaimed.
Marked by loose wires and bolts, the lights have been missing since December 2021. The Thruway Authority took them down after two fell in a windstorm and one hit a car.
They responded to a safety concern but if you ask Halm also created another one.
"To me, it's just a big safety issue, the safety aspect of no lights... it's just tough to see and if it's raining it's even harder to see," said Halm.
Initially, he held off on crying wolf expecting an update from the Thruway Authority to come. He never saw one.
"And then when my wife had that close call a couple of weeks ago I said I'm calling in," he said.
Halm's wife and another driver were changing lanes near the Church Street ramp on the 190. It was dark. They didn't see each other, and Ray believes there wouldn't have been an issue if there had been overhead lights.
"I reached out to you because I was trying to figure out what's going on," Halm said.
At least one hold-up appears to be a lawsuit filed by the state in 2022. The suit is attempting to recoup $4.4 million in damages, claiming that the companies (WSP USA Inc. f/k/a Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc., CATCO, Cold Spring) contracted to install the 300 or so new LED light poles did so incorrectly, resulting in fatigue and cracking at the base.
The lights were installed between 2018 and 2020 because much like today, in 2016 the 190 had lighting issues.
"It's crazy that a major highway like we have has no lights on it," said Halm.
A Thruway Authority spokesperson addressed Halm's safety concerns in a statement sent to 2 On Your Side Tuesday, stating that they've seen no increase in crashes along the interstate in the last decade.
"Since the light poles were removed in December 2021, the number of reported crashes on the 190 has decreased by more than ten percent as compared to the average number of crashes on the I-190 in the last decade. The Thruway Authority will continue to monitor and evaluate any impacts to traffic."
The Thruway Authority says it follows federal and state guidance on highway lighting. 2 On Your Side has reached out to the Federal Highway Administration seeking its guidance for the lighting.
According to the administration's 2023 lighting handbook, the primary purpose of roadway lighting on highways like the 190, "is to help the motorist remain on the roadway and aid in the detection of obstacles within and beyond the range of the vehicle headlamps."
Ray Halm said he'd be surprised if any other entity would allow such a busy highway to not have lights for so long.
2 On Your Side has learned that the Thruway Authority will start installing lights along the first 4 miles of 190 this summer as part of a Pavement Rehabilitation project.
The work will start near the Thruway interchange in Cheektowaga and continue into Buffalo according to the authority's Capital Program Projects Map.
For Halm, it's an encouraging start.
"Like anything else, I understand it takes time, these projects take time but when it comes to the safety of the public two years without any lights I just don't understand it," he said.
The Thruway Authority said the potential installation of lights along other parts of I-190 will be evaluated and considered as part of future capital projects.