Traffic Pole Falls Outside School In South Loop; Base Was Covered In Rust
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The windy weather Monday was partially to blame for a traffic pole coming crashing down right outside a school in the South Loop.
A closer look revealed that the base of the pole was completely covered in rust.
City crews were seen working late Monday to replace the busted pole and traffic light outside Daystar Academy at 16th and State streets.
A man who lives across the street heard the crash, and said he is now worried about other poles in his neighborhood.
"I think it just all points to a big backlog in deferred maintenance, and it's just a matter of time before the next one," said Kristopher Adler.
Dave Savini and the CBS 2 Investigators have been digging into this very issue for years. Just last week, our investigation revealed that the city was warned about thousands of corroding light poles, but failed to fix many of them.
A survey commissioned by the Chicago Department of Transportation graded every light pole in the city.
As to the pole that fell in the South Loop on Monday, we reached out to the city and asked whether it and others there were included in that survey of light poles. It does not appear that they were.
