Continuing to light the way forward
Northland’s LED retrofitting road lighting programme is currently underway and is part of the country’s national conversion of 370,000 roadside streets lights to more energy efficient, better quality lighting to improve overall safety. The upgrade programme is funded in part by Northland’s three District Councils, Whangarei (WDC) Kaipara (KDC) and the Far North (FNDC), with the balance paid by the NZ Transport Agency and includes the installation of new LED lighting units along with a considerable number of Oclyte® Streetlight Columns from CSP®.
“The overall Northland LED retrofit has been carried out in various sections,” explains Steve Silby, National Specification Manager for CSP®. “In recent months we have been supplying Currie Electrical for the Whangarei Southern Package which is the supply of about 280 new poles. We have been working closely with them to ensure that the deliveries and lead-times are met to allow them to achieve the deadlines and KPI’s required by their customer.”
The lighting upgrade aims to reduce power usage and maintenance costs whilst providing a better quality of light. Tourism is a big part of Northland’s economy and by improving the lighting, travel will be made safer and easier for visitors and locals alike.
Dave Adams, Contract Manager for Currie Electrical explains, “We started on the Whangarei Southern Package after the first lockdown and have been progressing well to our timelines. It’s not just the lamp replacement from the high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps to new LEDs that is improving safety, but also ensuring the poles are correctly spaced to eliminate any black spots in the road. The upgrade to LEDs (which typically last 20 years compared to four years for HPS lamps) has also meant the upgrade to current spacing specifications to ensure the whole road is lit, the right foundations and the removal of quite a number of old concrete columns.”
“There hasn’t been anything overly difficult about the supply of these columns although some additional work was required to engineer shorter foundations. That said, it was a large project and one we think will really improve the safety of some of our picturesque roads in the north, making them safer for everyone,” says Steve. “Everything is going well,” says Dave. “By the end of August we would have installed about 90 columns. Dealing with CSP® has been very easy. The deliveries from CSP® arrive regularly at our storage yard which keeps everything ticking along.” |
For assistance email: hello@csppacific.co.nz or Ph: 0800 655200