Interstate lighting
Interstate lighting is the system of overhead lights providing illumination to interstate highways, onramps and exits in the Birmingham District.
Before the interstate highway system was developed, the Highway Department installed electric street lights down the length of the Bessemer Super Highway in the 1940s, creating what was billed as "the longest white way east of the Rocky Mountains."
A rash of outages in the 2010s was blamed on thieves vandalizing them to collect the copper wiring for its elevated scrap value.
In 2019 the city was awarded a $1 million grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation to replace interstate lights along I-20/59 near Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport with newly-designed lights with features intended to deter copper thieves. At the same time, the city contracted for repairs to lights at I-65 near Greensprings Avenue and University Boulevard. That work was delayed.
In 2022, as part of preparations for the 2022 World Games and enabled by funding made available through the American Rescue Plan and other federal grants, the city partnered with the Department of Transportation to replace hundreds of additional lights. Each partner contributed $1.4 million to the cost.
See also
References
- Thornton, William (April 27, 2022) "New Birmingham interstate lights ‘about to be lit’ for World Games, Woodfin says." The Birmingham News
- Beahm, Anna (April 10, 2019) "Birmingham: Streetlight replacement complete; interstate lighting next." The Birmingham News