Copper Wire Thieves Turn Off MacArthur Streetlights

San Leandro’s Public Works department is seeking bids to repair street lighting on MacArther Boulevard after thieves stole hundreds of feet of underground copper wiring last week.

No stoplights were affected, but the stretch of MacArther between Estudillo and Dutton avenues is without street lighting from lights on the median strip. The lights will be out for an indefinite amount of time, said Public Works Director Michael Bakaldin.

“There is ambient (light) from the freeway, ambient from the storefronts, but the actual streetlights are out,” Bakaldin said.

City officials say the wire was stolen at night on Aug. 4. About a third of a mile of MacArthur, which in that area runs parallel to Interstate 580 west of the freeway, has been affected.

Repairs will cost $15,000 to $20,000, Bakaldin said. Contract bids are coming in, though the city does not have a timeline for when the work will be completed because extra precautions are planned in order to prevent further thefts.

“We’re hoping to start the work soon,” Bakaldin said. “The actual repairs should be done in a few days, but we’re trying to figure out other ways to secure the wire so it doesn’t happen again.”

Bakaldin said he did not want to reveal too many details about the criminal action so that he doesn’t reveal to potential thieves how to steal copper wire from the city.

But the theft, which involved digging into the ground and pulling the wire from under the road, was done by someone who demonstrated a “sophistication” for stealing underground wires.

“You have to know what you’re doing because thieves have been electrocuted trying it,” Bakaldin said.