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July 09. 2012 8:44PM
NHDOT still analyzing which streetlights it can turn off
It could take another month before the state’s planned streetlight shut down will take effect as engineers assess which of the estimated 3,000 lights can go dark and which are needed for highway safety. The move is designed to save money.
“It’s turned into a longer process than we thought,” New Hampshire Department of Transportation spokesman William Boynton said Monday.
Initial plans called for pulling the plug on up to three quarters of the streetlights illuminating 4,600 miles of state-owned roads and bridges by June 30 to meet a $944,000 cut in the highway maintenance bureau’s utility budget, state transportation officials said in mid-April.
The state reduced the number of lights it will discontinue to about 1,500, which would result in an estimated annual savings of $540,000, Boynton said. It costs the state about $30 a month to operate a streetlight.
The delay means the transportation department realized none of the $944,000 planned savings for fiscal 2012, which ended June 30.
“Money will have to be shifted (from other areas in the budget) to make up for the difference,” Boynton said.
“We have cuts going on everywhere except in winter maintenance,” he said. Areas flagged for cutback include grass mowing, bridge and guard rail repairs and street painting, he said.
The transportation department will “ultimately discontinue all lighting that is not needed for motorist safety,” Transportation Commissioner Christopher D. Clement Sr. wrote cities and towns leaders in April.
Engineering crews continue to assess which lights aren’t necessary under current state and federal highway safety guidelines, he said. Guidelines recommend reducing the number of lights on interstate highway ramps, most intersections and eliminating them entirely from bridges.
Boynton said he expects some streetlights will go dark within a month, but would not give a specific time. Timing must be coordinated with utilities, he added.
Meanwhile, transportation officials last week met with Keene officials, where several dozen lights are slated for elimination, mostly on state roads and bypasses.
“They were about 95 percent okay with what we were going with,” Boynton said. Town officials from Monadnock area communities have been invited to a follow-up hearing on Thursday. Other community meetings will be scheduled on “an as-needed basis,” Boynton said.
Not every city or town will be impacted by the shutdown. For instance, the city of Nashua will see no change since it owns and operates its streetlights, Boynton said.
The transportation department is facing more than $27 million in cuts under the two-year budget that ends June 30, 2013.
kmarchocki@unionleader.com
“It’s turned into a longer process than we thought,” New Hampshire Department of Transportation spokesman William Boynton said Monday.
Initial plans called for pulling the plug on up to three quarters of the streetlights illuminating 4,600 miles of state-owned roads and bridges by June 30 to meet a $944,000 cut in the highway maintenance bureau’s utility budget, state transportation officials said in mid-April.
The state reduced the number of lights it will discontinue to about 1,500, which would result in an estimated annual savings of $540,000, Boynton said. It costs the state about $30 a month to operate a streetlight.
The delay means the transportation department realized none of the $944,000 planned savings for fiscal 2012, which ended June 30.
“Money will have to be shifted (from other areas in the budget) to make up for the difference,” Boynton said.
“We have cuts going on everywhere except in winter maintenance,” he said. Areas flagged for cutback include grass mowing, bridge and guard rail repairs and street painting, he said.
The transportation department will “ultimately discontinue all lighting that is not needed for motorist safety,” Transportation Commissioner Christopher D. Clement Sr. wrote cities and towns leaders in April.
Engineering crews continue to assess which lights aren’t necessary under current state and federal highway safety guidelines, he said. Guidelines recommend reducing the number of lights on interstate highway ramps, most intersections and eliminating them entirely from bridges.
Boynton said he expects some streetlights will go dark within a month, but would not give a specific time. Timing must be coordinated with utilities, he added.
Meanwhile, transportation officials last week met with Keene officials, where several dozen lights are slated for elimination, mostly on state roads and bypasses.
“They were about 95 percent okay with what we were going with,” Boynton said. Town officials from Monadnock area communities have been invited to a follow-up hearing on Thursday. Other community meetings will be scheduled on “an as-needed basis,” Boynton said.
Not every city or town will be impacted by the shutdown. For instance, the city of Nashua will see no change since it owns and operates its streetlights, Boynton said.
The transportation department is facing more than $27 million in cuts under the two-year budget that ends June 30, 2013.
kmarchocki@unionleader.com