Milwaukee DPW responds to 12 News investigation into street light blackouts - WISN Milwaukee

Milwaukee DPW responds to 12 News investigation into street light blackouts

Department blames slow repairs on weather, staffing issues.

Milwaukee's Department of Public Works responded to 12 News' investigation into city street light outages.

The department issued a news release Friday which reads in part:

"Recent weather events and the freeze/thaw cycle have created a backlog of about 50 circuit outages on older street lighting circuits across the City of Milwaukee. The Department of Public Works understands the frustration of affected residents and is working diligently to address the situation while making progress on long-term improvements.

Streetlighting Outages

The City of Milwaukee maintains roughly 77,000 street lights much of it with an aging infrastructure that is powered by underground facilities. Each spring with fluctuating temperatures a freeze/thaw cycle occurs. After water penetrates the underground electrical infrastructure, it freezes and breaks open causing a disruption in the circuitry system. This series circuitry, installed nearly 100 years ago or more, is similar to old Christmas tree lights where one bad light takes down a whole strand of lights.

Addressing a street lighting trouble of this nature requires digging up the ground, troubleshooting then repairing the faulty circuitry. Fully responding to a street lighting outage can range from 24 hours to nearly a week depending largely on staff availability and the number of outages already in the queue.

The Department of Public Works Electrical Services division, which maintains the street lighting system, is currently at a 33% vacancy rate which is affecting the response time. And with the seasonal freeze/thaw it results in a surge of outages at one time with fewer people to address them.

Addressing the issue immediately

While Electrical Services contributes to other city programs such as traffic control, water and sewer instrumentation, and communication network systems – beginning earlier in March, ES personnel were redeployed which has resulted in crews working seven days a week, three shifts a day to address street lighting troubles.

We encourage residents to report street lighting outages so DPW is made aware of the issues and can respond to them."

Residents may report outages by calling 414-286-CITY (2489).

You can also report outages on the city's website linked here.