New lighting will be installed at two gateway intersections in Rockdale County: Interstate 20 Exit 78 (Sigman Road) and Interstate 20 Exit 84(Salem Road).
The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners awarded the $2.72 million project to Brooks Berry Haynie & Associates., which will install the lighting over the next year.
County officials said the project will provide safer, brighter and more economical LED lighting in the form of eight 120-foot-tall and seventeen 130-foot-tall high mast towers at the gateway intersections into Rockdale County. These high mast lights will increase visibility and safety at both interchanges on I-20. Both gateway interchanges were recently landscaped under a separate state grant.
In addition to better safety, aesthetics and visibility for the motorists entering the gateway intersections into the county, the maintenance of the LED lights by service crews will be much safer than conventional lighting, which would require tall bucket trucks to complete the lighting replacements, officials said.
The 25 high mast poles will be topped with luminaire rings with several independent lighting fixtures mounted around them. The BOC decided to use eco-efficient LED bulbs in lieu of the HPS (High Pressure Sodium) bulbs on this project. In a recent study by the Maine Department of Transportation, a 67% savings in electricity can be achieved in switching from conventional HPS high mast lighting to the more economical LED high mast lighting fixtures, officials said.
“Crews will use a device to mechanically lower the halos to the ground for lighting service rather than having to use a large bucket truck and work at height. The new lighting arrangement will be so much safer for the service crews and the traveling public,” said John Moretto, Director of Rockdale County Transportation (RDOT).
“We are very excited to see this type of project in our county as it will make a significant improvement in the safety, visibility and overall appearance at the gateway intersections.”