HOUSTON — Power remains a major problem two days after Hurricane Beryl. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,000 traffic signals across our area were out or damaged. That’s creating dangerous conditions out on the roads.
At this point, there's no timetable for repairs, so city and county officials are urging people to stay home. Intersections are extremely hazardous right now. The traffic lights are out and accidents are happening across the city.
Anthony Don got through the intersection of Westheimer and Chimney Rock unscathed.
"This is anarchy right now,” he said. “That’s real dangerous. I just almost got hit.”
Other drivers weren’t so lucky.
“I’ve seen three wrecks so far,” another driver told us. “And I haven’t been of my house very often."
Finding fully functional traffic lights has not been easy.
“Every light I go out to is out,” said Don.
At city hall on Wednesday, Houston Public Works briefed Mayo John Whitmire and council on the traffic light issue.
We learned of the city's inspected 2,500 inspected traffic lights, 515 have no power at all. Seventy-five are flashing and more than 60 have significant damage.
That means more than a quarter of the city's traffic signals aren't working properly.
This map shows you where just some of them are located, based on calls into 311.
That's just the city. TxDOT confirmed 600 of its state-maintained traffic signal intersections are still not working, also.
As for Harris County, Houston's Public Works department tells us its working to get as many back online as quickly as possible.
“Generators will be staged at strategic locations at some of these intersections that are dark right now,” said Houston Public Works Chief Operating Officer Randy Macchi Wednesday. “We're going to highlight, first and foremost, the most vulnerable intersections right there off of the state right of way. That's where you find almost always the busiest of the traffic is coming off of our of our freeways and our feeder roads for drivers who need to get around."
For drivers who need to get around, frustration is building. Patience is waning.
“It’s not a good sign for Houston right now,” said Don. “We need help ASAP.”
Once power comes on at intersections, Houston Public Works crews have to go there and manually reset it so it can operate at 100 percent capacity.
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