BELL COUNTY, Texas — If you have recently driven along Interstate 35 in Bell County when the sun is down, you may have noticed many lights are out along the interstate. The Texas Department of Transportation - Waco District (TxDOT) said they are aware of the outage, and they're actively working to bring back light to the areas that are out.
It might even be fixed soon.
In a statement to 6 News on Thursday, Jan. 25, a spokesperson for TxDOT said:
"There is a TxDOT project that recently let (opened for bid) that will reestablish illumination along the I-35 corridor in Bell County in the near future."
The department didn't specify when the lights would be restored or how much it would cost to restore them. The lights that are out include some in the median of the interstate and even along the frontage road. 6 News asked how many lights were out in the Temple area, but a specific count wasn't shared.
6 News learned about the lights being out around the I-35 corridor in Bell County in March 2023 -- that's when TxDOT first told us about the matter. It was during that time that a spokesperson told 6 News the outages on state roadways in Bell County were caused by copper thefts in the area.
"TxDOT is aware of this issue and is actively working on preventative measures, including communication with law enforcement," Jake Smith, a spokesperson for TxDOT - Waco District, wrote in a statement in March 2023.
Smith, along with the rest of the team at TxDOT, still encourages motorists to report any suspicious activity observed along the highway.
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