In an effort to improve driver safety during evening hours along a stretch of Mississippi Highway 39, the city of Meridian will be installing LED lighting on a busy two-mile stretch.

The lighting upgrade covers a 2.5-mile stretch from Old U.S. Highway 45 to North Hills Street. Mississippi Power crews will begin installing the lights in early March, according to the city. The city is switching out 6,637 old high-pressure sodium lights, which have a yellow glow to them, around the city.

“We have been in the process of working to phase in LED lights throughout the City of Meridian in a bifurcated process, addressing neighborhood lighting and main thoroughfares at the same time,” Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Richie McAlister said. 

McAlister said the 2.5-mile Highway 39 section has 156 light fixtures.

“To transfer a high-pressure sodium light to an LED light the cost is 25 cents per month more for a 90-watt LED, which is the vast majority of city,” McAlister said. “To transfer a light on a highway or the interstate we have to receive MDOT approval and the cost is $1.74 per month more because we are going to a 190-watt LED from a 400-watt high pressure sodium fixture.”

McAlister said there is no installation fee for lights the city does not own.

“The only time the city pays for the lights is if the light is owned and maintained by the city, otherwise the city pays a monthly rate and the cost is in correlation to the size of the fixture,” McAlister said.

According to a city news release, LED lights maintain their brightness as they age and last much longer than high-pressure sodium lights. This reduces the replacement and down time when a light goes out. There is not a replacement cost for an LED light that goes out. That is figured into the 25-cent or $1.74 monthly increase. LED lights last five times longer than high-pressure sodium lights, according to the news release.

McAlister said the city will realize savings in the long term, though he could not put a dollar amount for the savings. 

“The savings for these lights can be seen in numerous ways including enhancements to public safety, both crime and traffic related, ” McAlister said. “The lights increase the livability standard of our city by increasing the visual appeal to travelers. This happens because LED lighting enhances color perception, doubles a driver’s peripheral vision and increases brake reaction times by 25 percent.”

According to the city, other benefits to LED lighting include:

• They improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians because they produce light that’s much closer to natural daylight than the yellowish glow of the old lamp.

• They’re much more efficient, so they’re much cheaper to operate. The new LED lights require only 190 watts of power to produce about the same amount of light as the 400-watt lights they replace.

• LED lights last about five times as long, which decreases maintenance and replacement

• The LED lights maintain their brightness much longer as they age, which again improves safety and reduces replacement cost.

• LEDs focus light downward, eliminating wasteful scattering of light outward and upward. They also spread illumination more evenly over their target area.

Meridian Ward 1 City Councilman George Thomas said the improved lighting system along the stretch of highway comes none too soon.

“The LED lights should be a big improvement to that part of the city,” Thomas said. “They should improve traffic safety with it being well lit. We look forward to matching the lights with the rest of the city. We’re delighted to have them in that part of town because of the high traffic counts. It is one of the most highly traveled roads inside the city.”

McAlister said the city is exploring the costs of placing LED lights on major thoroughfares.

“We are in the process of evaluating not only our city streets and highways that run through the city of Meridian, but also the cost that would be associated with transferring all of the interstate lighting to LED lighting,’ McAlister said. “We feel this will be a great future project that will draw more traffic off of the interstate to patronize city of Meridian businesses.”