LED street light installation begins in Detroit

DETROIT (AP) -- Crews in one eastside Detroit neighborhood on Wednesday installed the first of about 50,000 new LED street lights that eventually will illuminate the city.

The 150-watt LED lights are more than twice as bright as standard 70-watt, high-pressure sodium lights, according to Detroit's Public Lighting Authority.

The authority began installing new high pressure sodium lights in November in demonstration areas, but switched gears and decided to go with LED lamps while rebuilding the city's street lighting system.

A corner at Greiner and Hamburg streets got the first LED light.

"Today marks a milestone in providing modern, reliable public lighting for the citizens of Detroit," Mayor Mike Duggan said. "With the decision to install all LED lights, the Public Lighting Authority is ensuring that we are providing our citizens with up-to-date technology that will serve our city well for the foreseeable future."

The city's lighting system has been plagued by broken bulbs, antiquated wiring and thefts of copper wires from light posts.

Fewer than half of the city's 88,000 streetlights are believed to work.

In September, crews began a block-by-block review of streetlights in two demonstration areas. Construction in the two areas is scheduled to be completed by the end of May.

The authority said its goal is to have working street lights in all city neighborhoods by the end of 2015.

The authority's board is "determined to provide the citizens of Detroit with the lighting they deserve," said Odis Jones, the authority's executive director. "Clearly we are on our way to reversing decades of disinvestment in the city's street lights."

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LED street light installation begins in Detroit