MARIETTA, Ga. -- When you drive up I-75, for stretches of road, your headlights do all of the work.
Drivers like Steven Lambert get nervous: "When you have the lights, you're able to see the complete road. You're able to see distances in front of you."
The US Department of Transportation doesn't require states (or local governments) to light the interstates.
Georgia's DOT will pay to install lights, but it's then up to the city or county to foot the bill for maintenance and to keep the power running. On I-75, the city of Marietta signed a contract with GDOT to do just that. City leaders will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore lights targeted by copper thieves.
In Cobb County outside of Marietta, there are no lights on I-75.
In areas of Dekalb and Fulton counties, you'll find areas with interstate lights and those without.
"Both the department as well as local governments have been struggling with funding lately, so it's not as simple as asking us to put in lights and being able to commit to that power," GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale told 11Alive's Commuter Dude Jerry Carnes.
The committment to maintain those interstate lights is an expensive one. The city of Atlanta spends about $250,000 on maintenance, and about $1 million to pay the power. That doesn't include the cost of repairs when copper thieves strike.
We asked Cobb County if they had any plans to request interstate lights from the DOT. The answer, right now, is no. But that could change. The city of Marietta tells us they're working with the state DOT to come up with the money to restore the lights along their stretch of interstate.
