Highway & Street Lighting Solutions

Passing by street lights is a part of everyday life, whether it’s on the morning commute to work, or walking down the street, or spotting your street light flicker on at dusk. But have you ever considered how light posts are installed? Have you thought about how the strength of the light, pole height, the wiring underneath?

The most common installation method for street and highway lighting is using the direct burial technique, where the pole is welded at the base at ground level, with concrete below the surface surrounding the bottom of the pole to keep it in place.

Following professional recommendations regarding lighting levels is also important. Street lights determine our safety and visibility while on the road. However, calculating how much light is needed depends on the light pole height, wattage of LED lights, and the amount of lanes on a road. That being said, LED street lighting requires 60-120 lumens per watt, which would be approximately 6000 - 1200 lumens.

Product Suggestions for Street and Highway Lighting

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Which lights are best for highways?

Imagine you’re driving down the highway at night and you enter a tunnel filled with warm lighting. It provides a soothing feeling while offering plenty of light to pay attention to the road. Research shows that warm white LED lighting is more beneficial and less harsh compared to cooler light bulbs. We recommend looking for a color temperature less than 3000K.  

Why does the height of highway lights matter?

State routes and smaller interstates that are two to four lane highways usually require a pole mounting height of up to 50 feet. 

However, major highway lighting typically uses high mast lights, which are tall poles that create brightness directly over the ground. High mast light poles range from 60-150 feet in height and support visibility and safe driving at night, especially where complex interchanges or darkening overpasses are in place. 

[Rob Photo Suggestion: maybe include a photo of high mast lighting here]

Some states also mandate highway light poles be installed further from the road to avoid driving accidents that involve light poles. Taller light poles accommodate this regulation. Additionally, highway lights are often spaced closer together in order to provide enough light and visibility to a larger road with multiple lanes.

What are the different types of street lights?

For street lights, you want to find high performance light fixtures. We recommend LightMart’s HPUSA series or our Commercial Area Medium light fixtures for specification grade products that meet your specific commercialized needs. 

While street light poles are typically for practical uses and seeing clearly when driving at night, decorative lighting fixtures and poles line the streets of some downtown city blocks and residential streets. This style of lighting is usually attached to poles that are 12-15 feet long. 

Street light poles and attachments also come in a variety of styles. Breakaway poles, or Transformer Bases, benefit drivers by quickly breaking away or yielding to a vehicle in the event of an accident. 

Additionally, different types of arm lengths are based on how far the street pole is placed from the curb to help prevent car accidents. Mast arm brackets mounted onto poles are more commonly installed on interstates and roads surrounding airports, providing sufficient lighting to drivers. 

How many light poles are needed for these projects?

[Rob Photo Suggestion: if you have time, a sketch showing the spacing between light poles may optimizing the written content here]

It depends on the project, along with many other factors including how the light fixture is angled, mounting height, and overhang to determine how to space each light pole. For smaller, residential areas, side streets light poles are generally between 9 - 14 feet and the space between each post is approximately 2.5 - 3 times the length of the light pole used on each block. Using this logic, and a bit of math, residential side streets install posts between 22.5 feet to 42 feet apart. Given that a full street block is typically around 300 feet, a 300-foot block divided by 42 feet spacing per pole would equal 7 light poles per block. 

However, highways and interstates require more lighting to cover a larger area of the ground. This means installing a sufficient amount of light poles at a higher height, and the proper light fixtures and wattage to provide brightness and ensure the safety of drivers.   

What does the department of transportation recommend in terms of street and highway lighting designs? 

[Rob Photo Suggestion: if you have time, a good image to recreate or take inspiration from may be the one showing on the DOT website here showing a crosswalk and light poles: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/lighting.cfm]

The Department of Transportation states that modern made poles should be made with breakaway features or installed far enough from the road to help avoid car crashes. DOT also suggests plenty of lighting placed at intersections to provide brightness and prevent accidents involving vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. 

LightMart’s aluminum light poles are designed to American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards and meet all applicable material ASTM standards.

What are some ways to reduce lighting pollution when it comes to installing highway lights? 

LED light fixtures produce energy saving results by reducing energy cost, using sources that last longer, and are low maintenance. Lights also impact the environment – as traditional non-LEDs emit more heat and energy waste. Using excessive lighting, or light trespass, is also damaging and increases light pollution. Installing LEDs, especially on wide roadways such as highways and interstates, creates an efficient highway lighting design.

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