The street lights on the northbound ramp to U.S. Highway 19/41 from North Expressway have been taken down for construction.

Griffin Power crews took down the lights Wednesday morning, said Assistant Director Tom Ridgway, to accommodate the Georgia Department of Transportation construction project on Highway 19/41, beginning near West Ellis Road and going north. Ridgway said the city had to remove the street lights because of grading and road improvements along the northbound entrance ramp.

“There’s no way they can do it without removing the lights,” he said.

As a result, he said, this section of the roadway will be darker than drivers are used to until this section of the project work is complete and the lighting can be reinstalled. Ridgway did not have a time frame for when the lights would go back in, saying it was up to contractor.

“I’m guessing they will be down for a fair amount of time,” he said.

A similar process will follow with the southbound exit from Highway 19/41 as work progresses. Ridgway said the southbound side will be worse, with the curve in the road and both sides out.

As with any construction project, the City of Griffin asks that drivers use extreme caution when driving through the construction zone, and particularly at night, when the roadway will be unlit.