| | Published May 25th, 2011
| Significant Savings on Downtown Streetlight Project
| | Aleksandr Auzers | | |
In a unanimous decision on Monday, May 9th, Lafayette's City Council approved a disbursement of $137,000 for the retrofit of 189 streetlights along Mt. Diablo Boulevard between Pleasant Hill Road and Risa Road. This will ultimately cost Lafayette next to nothing, as the City will receive a federally-sourced grant reimbursement shortly after construction is completed. According to Project Engineer Jay Yu, the upgraded streetlights are to be significantly more cost-effective than the models currently in service; he projects annual savings of about $16,000, a remarkable improvement in excess of 46%. The retrofit will entail replacing each light's lamp assembly and protective globe.
As the project's total cost is slightly higher than the expected grant repayment, a small supplement of approximately $4000 will be paid out from the Public Works streetlight maintenance fund. Originally, Lafayette had planned to upgrade 244 lamps, but Yu said the City received bids from contractors that were higher than anticipated. Given the present economic climate, he noted, the City believes it imprudent to upgrade the 55 lamps excluded from the current retrofit project, unless additional grant-based funding can be secured at a later date.
During the construction period, which is expected to commence within two months and last twenty days, City residents may encounter higher levels of traffic congestion, though Yu said both day and night crew shifts are planned, to minimize the impact on traffic flow.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA