State Highway Administration to Shed a Little Light on I-795

The State Highway Administration (SHA) is in the process of replacing bulbs in overhead lights along its highways, including I-795 (the Northwest Expressway) and the I-695 beltway.

Charlie Gischlar of the SHA said they are in the process of replacing overhead lights on I-795 and around the I-695 beltway. He said they are replacing current lights with energy efficient LED lighting.

SHA is already in the process of changing traffic signals over to LED lighting. An SHA news release distributed in August reads:

... The SHA has converted more than 93 percent of its 3,000 traffic signal lights statewide to efficient Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. SHA anticipates an estimated total energy savings of 43 million kilowatt hours by 2015, which equates to enough energy to power approximately 4,500 Maryland homes for an entire year.

The highway lighting infrastructure is old, Gischlar said.

"These highway lights are as old as the interstates themselves so the infastructure underground -- the pipes, the conduits that carry the wires and everything -- start to go after awhile. It's been 50 years on the beltway," Gischlar said. "We're upgrading and using more efficient lighting."

Although Gischlar said there are supervisors that complete night audits every few months, the SHA relies heavily on highway user feedback to help them determine when overhead lights need to be replaced. 

Highway users can report lights that are out at roads.maryland.gov under Contact Us.

"That way we can know exactly wehre lights need to be fixed or replaced," Gischlar said. "The public is our partner on this and we appreciate hearing about lighting issues and other issues on Maryland state highways."

Depending on weather, Gischlar said the work should be completed by March of 2014. 

"We're making good progress, it's a large contract and there's a lot of work involved," Gischlar said.