The iconic 6th Street Bridge, once a popular and eye-catching Los Angeles sight — connecting the historic Boyle Heights neighborhood to the downtown L.A. Arts District — now has residents miffed after thieves stripped the landmark of its distinctive lights, poles and copper wiring, presumably for the sake of making a few bucks.
The city has put together a special task force to crack down on the thefts, and recycling centers that buy the hot goods, that left the bridge completely dark.
But the bright lights who came up with the scheme are actually a bunch of dim bulbs.
“What they’re getting, actually, is pennies on the dollar,” L.A. City Councilman Kevin de León tells CBS News. “It costs taxpayers millions of dollars in repairs.”
Unfortunately, the bridge will have to remain in the dark until city officials can come up with a way of preventing people from selling pieces of the bridge as scrap metal for profit.