ROCKINGHAM — In his municipal manager's report during the Dec. 3 Selectboard meeting, Willis “Chip” Stearns III told the board that he was notified by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Highway Superintendent that the state will no longer illuminate the Arch Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River between Walpole and Rockingham.
NHDOT Systems Engineer Jim Hewett confirmed to The Commons that Liberty Utilities discontinued power to the street lights in late November.
Rockingham Highway Supervisor Mike Hindes had asked NHDOT about lights being burned out on the bridge.
In response, NHDOT District 4 Access and Utilities Engineer Frank Linnenbringer wrote, “The State of New Hampshire has been evaluating and discontinuing streetlights, based on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Roadway Lighting Guide, and how the NHDOT has implemented that guidance.”
Linnenbringer explained in an email dated Dec. 2: “We delayed repairing [Arch Bridge lighting] ... pending a decision regarding [the bridge] status.”
He added that there is “no requirement for lighting bridges and therefore all bridge lighting is being discontinued,” and “as of Nov. 27, 2013, all of the lights on the bridge should be off.”
According to Hewett, for the last 18 months, New Hampshire has been turning off lights on all highways and bridges due to new design standards.
“Most of these lights were put in during a time when design standards were different,” he explained. “With [changes in the intensity of] modern car headlights, we do not need so many lights anymore.”
According to the AASHTO website, the Roadway Lighting Guide has been “revised and brought up to date to reflect current practices in roadway lighting.”
The guide “provides a general overview of lighting systems from the point of view of the transportation departments and recommends minimum levels of quality.”
But, in an April 26, 2013 letter from NHDOT's commissioner's offices, Walpole had been notified of the impending changes and told that they were a consequence of a desire to cut $650,000 in electricity costs statewide.
The state government's desires to run more “lean and efficient” departments statewide was a determining factor, the letter noted.
The commissioner's office did acknowledge, however, that “reductions to the current state budget were the catalyst for evaluating process and procedures,” in the NHDOT Operations Division.