Rhode Island Is Fighting Copper Thieves With 700 Pounds of Concrete

Drive down certain stretches of Rhode Island road these days and you might notice something new sitting atop the manhole covers: massive concrete blocks that look like they landed there by accident. They didn't. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation put them there on purpose, and anyone who has watched a favorite streetlight go dark along their own commute probably has a good guess why.

Copper wire theft has become enough of a headache for RIDOT that officials decided a low-tech fix was worth trying. The agency has been placing these concrete blocks over access covers for the last few months to protect the wiring that powers streetlamps. RIDOT Interim Director Robert Rocchio told NBC 10 WJAR that the state has lost more than $1 million in stolen copper, though he did not specify over what period that loss occurred.

Rocchio described it as a cycle that has been dragging on for years. He said the thefts picked up once copper prices climbed, and ever since it has been a constant back and forth: RIDOT repairs the wiring, thieves come back and strip it again, and the crew heads out to fix it all over again.

That cycle is harder to pull off now. Each concrete block weighs 700 pounds and needs equipment just to move, which makes a quick smash and grab at a manhole cover a lot less appealing. RIDOT plans to install 151 of these blocks statewide, and as of the report, 87 were already in place. The whole effort cost $75,000, not the $750,000 figure that first circulated in a video segment before WJAR issued a correction.

Along roadways, the blocks are buried or ground flush so they don't become a hazard. Off the road, they are left sitting in plain sight.

For those of us who have lived here through streetlights flickering out for no clear reason, it is a small relief to know there is a reason, and a plan to deal with it.

What it means for residents

If you have noticed dark stretches on local roads over the past couple of years, copper theft is very likely why. RIDOT's blocks won't fix every outage overnight, but the agency believes the approach is already working. This is not just a Rhode Island problem either. Communities from Philadelphia, where a youth football team has had to practice without working field lights, to California, where AT&T reported more than 4,300 wire thefts last year, are dealing with the same thing. AT&T has launched an awareness campaign with rewards for tips in several states.

Where to look, what to expect

Drivers may continue to see concrete blocks appearing on manhole covers across the state as RIDOT works toward its goal of 151 installations.

Source: The Drive

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