Cheaper aluminum wiring might be used to replace the highly coveted copper wiring that thieves keep stealing from remote highways and freeways on O'ahu.

But aluminum wiring has its own problems.

It isn't nearly as good a conductor of electricity as copper, so freeway and highway lights won't glow as bright, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

"Some people think some lights are better than no lights," Ishikawa said.

He emphasized that any aluminum wiring would only be used to replace stolen copper, not to retrofit the entire freeway and highway system.

There is no estimate yet on costs and no deadline on when a decision might be made, Ishikawa said.

Aluminum vs. copper wiring is just one of a handful of options DOT officials are thinking about as miles of freeway and highway continue to lose their valuable copper wiring to thieves.

One stretch of H-2 Freeway from the Ka Uka Boulevard on-ramp to the Waiawa interchange has been hit repeatedly in the past two years — including this month when $96,000 worth of copper disappeared along a four-mile stretch.

DOT officials have said before that they are considering aluminum wiring as a replacement option. And Ishikawa reiterated the department's options Thursday night to members of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, who represent many of the areas that have been darkened by copper thieves.

"These empty stretches are where we're having problems," Ishikawa said yesterday. "This is not happening in town. These areas that are getting hit are in no-man's land. There are no residential neighborhoods nearby."

Solar technology is also being considered but isn't reliable during long stretches of cloudy skies, Ishikawa said.

Repair crews also have welded some electrical boxes shut to prevent thieves from cutting off power to steal the copper.

"They just took a sledge hammer and cracked it open," Ishikawa said. "That actually caused more damage than the original thefts."

While DOT officials figure out long-term solutions to getting lights back on, they continue to replace stolen copper with new copper at freeway interchanges, which can be dangerous in the dark.

And they have responded to lawmakers who asked for extra reflective lane markers in darkened stretches of highway, Ishikawa said.

Maeda Timson, a member of the Makakilo/Kapolei Neighborhood Board, told Ishikawa Thursday night that "We have been the community that's probably been the longest without lights. If aluminum means we'll have some light and it won't be stolen, that's wonderful compared to being in the dark. Even a little light goes a long way."

The west side of O'ahu probably has more young families than any other area, Timson said, and she and hundreds of other families have to drive along the darkened H-1 Freeway between Kunia and Kapolei every day — worried about breaking down.

"We don't worry at times," she said, "we worry all the time. It comes up regularly at the board."

She has seen families whose cars have stalled on the side of the road, and Timson has pulled over and called 911.

"There are so many moms driving out there with the kids, coming home," she said. "What if that was me with my kids? It's easy for someone to get mugged. There's so much brush and the shoulders are narrow. It's so dangerous."

Lately, transportation crews have been doing roadwork at night and Timson doesn't mind all of the dust — as long as the work lights stay on.

"Now at least we can see where we're going," Timson said. "Despite all of the dust, we're happy. Because we can see the light."