Copper thieves have darkened a stretch of Nimitz Highway and Kamehameha Highway near the airport by stealing the copper wire that connects street lights, according to police and the state Department of Transportation.

Employees with the state DOT filed three police reports in January, the latest on Tuesday, claiming more than $10,000 worth of copper wire has been lost and damage done.

Honolulu police have opened three second-degree theft cases in connection with the missing copper.

One of the recent thefts involved 5,670 feet of No. 6 gauge copper wire valued at $4,800 that was stolen from transformer boxes and ripped from the light posts that illuminate the roadway under H-1 Freeway's airport corridor between Jan. 19 and 22.

On Jan. 26, DOT workers reported 2,000 feet of copper wire worth $2,400 taken from the area. A day earlier, DOT workers filed a report of 300 feet of wire valued at $300 stolen from the back of a truck and from street lights.

The thefts have left a stretch of Nimitz Highway westbound and Kamehameha Highway eastbound near Honolulu International Airport without light.

A police spokesperson did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

"We've replaced the copper twice already, and it's been stolen twice. It was taken the day after it was replaced, so we are not replacing it at this time," said Scott Ishikawa, DOT spokesman. "Somebody is obviously watching what we're doing. It's affecting a whole lot of different organizations, and it is frustrating."

Copper thieves have caused more than $300,000 in damage to state and city roads in the past year, prompting legislation proposing enhanced felony penalties for copper thieves.

One proposal submitted by the state attorney general's office, and the four county police chiefs and prosecutors, creates the offense of "theft of copper," a felony, and adds stricter requirements for the purchase of copper by scrap dealers to hold the dealers accountable for violations of mandated reporting requirements, according to the Attorney General's office.

Copper thefts have confounded law enforcement both here and on the Mainland, according to the coalition. Copper thieves are taking air conditioners from apartment buildings in Tennessee, farm equipment and implements in Washington, and rain gutters from condos in Missouri.

In Honolulu, since May 2006, copper thieves have caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to state freeways along the central and west O'ahu corridor, ripping out wiring from about 100 light fixtures and leaving stretches of darkness in these primary areas: from the H-1/H-2 interchange through the Ka Uka Boulevard and Pineapple Road overpasses; two miles on H-1 west-bound between the Kunia and Makakilo exits; and three miles east-bound on the same freeway coming out of 'Ewa toward Waipahu.

Hawaiian Electric Co. has had 20 copper-theft incidents this year at various locations, and at least six of them have resulted in outages, according to HECO's safety/security and facilities department.

Thieves also are ripping off copper gutters, air-conditioning units from homes, roof paneling, and pipe fixtures.

In November, thieves ripped out 300 feet of copper wire from the underground system that controls the pump system at the Sand Island State Recreational Area. The facility sustained significant damage, and the state had to close the park because the pump system was inoperable and the restrooms could not be used.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.