Highway 39 street lighting is still in the planning stages

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Today’s city council meeting continued the discussion on Highway 39’s street lighting.

The lights are planned to be installed along a one-mile stretch between the Coca Cola factory and 33rd Street.

These lights were removed by MDOT about a year ago to make room for new overpass lanes and highway expansions.

David Hodge with Meridian Public Works said they have considered their options and are still planning the next and best step for Highway 39.

“The lighting now has to be on each shoulder, so there will be a light on each side of the street. That’s double the number of poles that would be needed to light this again between Dale Drive and 33rd Street. We will start putting together a package. We bid it out to see how much it will cost to complete that project. It is now a trend for cities to actually own their own lamps, rather than leasing from the energy company. I think buying and maintaining it yourself will be a better alternative in terms of benefit-cost analysis. We will find out once we put together a package and bid on it and see what the numbers will be,” said Hodge.

No proposals have yet been submitted to the municipal council.

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