The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is prepared to seek felony charges for the theft of navigational light wiring on the KY 453 Canal Bridge at Grand Rivers.
Engineers say damage to the lighting system could be up to as much as $50,000.
Last year, Transportation Cabinet personnel discovered the theft of about 25 feet of electrical wiring that supplied power to navigation lights on the bridge. The incident was immediately reported to the U.S. Coast Guard and the wiring was repaired.
Investigators believe the most recent theft occurred in February. At the end of the month, technicians making regular rounds discovered all the wire was stolen, and the conduit and junction boxes required for the navigation lights to operate were destroyed.
KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Jim LeFevre is asking anyone with information to contact the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police, or the U.S. Coast Guard.
“Theft of wiring and metal to sell for scrap is an ongoing problem for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, as it is for many businesses, churches and even individual homeowners across the Commonwealth,” LeFevre said. “As often as not, the amount of damage caused by the thieves far surpasses the amount of money they can hope to get from a scrap dealer. If we have to rebuild the entire electrical system on the Canal Bridge, we could be looking at up to $50,000 in time and materials to fully restore navigation lighting over this busy waterway. That is a criminal theft of taxpayer money.”
Lyon County Sheriff Kent Murphy, who is investigating the theft, says in return for what was likely less than a hundred dollars worth of scrap metal, the thieves jeopardized the safety of the public and will face felony charges, if caught.
Today, for the safety of commercial river and pleasure boat traffic, bridge engineers and technicians placed solar-powered lights to mark the bridge piers and the midpoint of the navigation channel that runs beneath the structure. If the solar lights work well, they may become a permanent fixture on the bridge.
The Canal Bridge, also known as the Between the Rivers Memorial Bridge, is a few hundred yards south of the Lyon-Livingston county line at Grand Rivers. The bridge crosses the canal that connects Kentucky Lake with Lake Barkley and serves as the northern entrance to the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.
In addition to felony state charges, federal charges could be added for destroying a navigation light that is critical for river traffic safety.
