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Testing begins for interchange lights
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| By: ADAM NORTHAM, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
October 09, 2009 |
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Photo By MATTHEW COLEMAN
In this timed-exposure photo, a vehicle’s headlights are seen streaking along Brookway Boulevard at the Interstate 55 interchange where testing for new overhead lights is under way. The light testing is expected to last 14 days.
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Testing is under way for the new high- and low-mast lights standing high over Interstate 55 in west Brookhaven, and the eight-month project to illuminate Exit 40 is running ahead of schedule.
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Ed Sansing, an electrical design engineer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said an electrical inspection was being conducted Friday and a 14-day testing period would begin that night. Some lights shined brightly over the interchange Thursday night in a preview of what is to come.
Sansing said project contractor Webster Electric Co. Inc., of Meridian, has completed all electrical work and - barring any failures during the testing period - full-time lighting for Exit 40 has arrived.
"They've got everything pretty much fixed," Sansing said. "Basically, we're going to look at each one of the polls and systems, bring the lights down to make sure they're working and then put it on automatic."
The approximately $500,000 job was paid for by MDOT, with the agreement that Brookhaven and Lincoln County would share future costs for maintenance and electricity. Local leaders have sought the project for years, but were only able to gain momentum late last year with the help of District 39 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
"Last night was the first time I had the opportunity to see the interstate lit up as I was driving home from the Capitol, and it was a wonderful sight," she said Friday morning. "I realized that the efforts of so many community leaders had come to fruition."
Local leaders sought the installation of lighting for Exit 40 for economic development reasons, as Brookhaven was one of the only major cities on an interstate in Mississippi that did not have illuminated interchanges. Traffic estimates place the number of vehicles traveling Brookway Boulevard daily at 27,000, and many of those come from or leave by Exit 40.
"This will illuminate our community for nighttime travelers, so they recognize Brookhaven as an excellent stopping point when traveling on the interstate," said Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield. "Before, travelers would be too far past the exit ramps before they realized they were driving by a sizeable town."
The four 130-foot high-mast lights along Interstate 55 and the dozen 40-foot low-mast lights along the on and off ramps will bring Brookhaven up to speed with other interstate cities. Webster Electric President and owner Steve Webster said the lights would produce three to five foot-candles of light, basically the equivalent of the light produced in the parking lots of new grocery stores.
Lincoln County Chancery Clerk Tillmon Bishop said the "electrical welcome mat" would be essential to Brookhaven's business community and provide much-needed visibility at the formerly dark interchange. He pointed out that what's good for the city is good for the county, and vice versa.
"When somebody drives up to my home to visit me at night, I'm going to turn on the lights, I'm not going to let them fumble around in the dark," Bishop said. "We're turning on the front porch light in Brookhaven."
Brookhaven Mayor Les Bumgarner said the city has more work planned for Exit 40 to add to the interchange's appeal. With the interchange now under Brookhaven's control, city leaders are working with Brookhaven Beautiful to begin landscaping projects there.
"Now that we have it lit up, it makes it even more important to keep it clean and looking nice," Bumgarner said. "This is the first step of making that intersection be what it can be, an attractive place to come in and out of Brookhaven."
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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