Wire thieves struck Seattle's transportation system again last week, disabling ramp meters that help break up the rush hour armada of commuters heading northbound on Interstate 5 from Interstate 90.
The May 25 theft of the highly sought-after copper wires was one of the 30 incidents in the Seattle metro area recorded by Washington State Department of Transportation officials so far in 2025, said James Poling, an agency spokesperson.
That number is up from last year, when 25 thefts occurred by this time of the year. "Thieves continue to find a way to circumvent our protective measures," Poling said in an email.
Without the meters — red and green lights that parcel out the platoon of cars trying to merge from the east — congestion worsened, and commuters saw longer trips for more than a week.
The repairs related to this year's thefts have cost $500,000 and led to 1,200 hours in employee time to fix the damage, Poling said. WSDOT did not know the cost of fixing I-5's ramp meters, which were repaired and put back in operation early Tuesday afternoon.
Copper wires are commonly used in regional and national transportation systems, including in digital signs, overhead lights, traffic cameras, signalized intersections and more.
Considering their common use, the phenomenon of wire theft is nothing new. WSDOT has struggled with wire theft for years, as the price of copper has exploded. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, a ton of copper cost $1,800 in 2000. Now, it's more than $9,000.
The state has collaborated with other transportation departments nationwide to stop the theft but it has yet to find a winning solution.
Those measures include welding junction box lids shut, increasing distance between junction boxes to make wire pulling more challenging, installing concrete collars or blocks around junction boxes in high-theft areas like the I-5 corridor, and installing steel brackets with puck locks, a type of lock with a hidden shackle and pick-resistant cylinder that can prevent people from cutting or picking a lock.
Some measures aren't totally successful in preventing theft, like the cut-proof fencing WSDOT has installed, which Poling noted "can still be cut and damaged significantly, as our crews have learned."
One of the more effective deterrents is the replacement of copper wires with aluminum. Thieves will cut the wire before realizing it's aluminum, which is worth far less than copper, and abandon the effort.
"This significantly reduces our costs, though we still have labor expenses for splicing wires back together," Poling said.
Stopping thefts is difficult, because they often happen "in daylight from individuals often wearing nonofficial safety vests," he said.
The agency said people seeing such activity should call 911.
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