PPL returned on Tuesday night and Wednesday to begin replacing some of Ashland's deteriorating light poles along Centre Street.
In June, Ashland had to close Centre Street after light poles fell twice during windy weather, narrowly missing traffic. While the wind contributed to the incidents, the primary issue was the condition of the poles at their bases, where age and weather had caused rust.
Local media, including Skook News, WNEP, and WBRE, brought attention to the issue on Tuesday,.
PPL issued the following statement on Tuesday:
"We are working closely with Ashland Borough to expedite the replacement and removal of the fallen streetlights, which are more than 50 years old. The streetlights fell during periods of high winds and storms and did not cause power outages for customers. Once notified, we moved the streetlights off the road. Additionally, we are coordinating with the borough to complete a visual inspection of all streetlights."
By Tuesday evening, PPL crews were on-site inspecting the poles.
On Wednesday, multiple crews and traffic control flaggers were present to begin the project. PPL released the following statement regarding the replacement of the poles:
"PPL Electric Utilities has inspected the streetlight poles in Ashland Borough. We have crews onsite now removing the four downed streetlight poles in addition to two more that we are removing proactively. These six streetlights will be replaced today with new fiberglass poles. We will continue to work with the Borough to further evaluate streetlight poles to replace as a precaution."
As of 1:00pm, Wednesday, PPL crews were at the scene digging around the bases of the poles that will be replaced.
