The street lights on Oakmont will be turned off on Wednesday September 21, 2011. The new lights are scheduled to energized on October 3, 2011. The lights on Fairmont are expected to be turned off September 27, 2011 and also scheduled to be energized on October 3, 2011. Only the power to the street lights will be off during this time. The electricity to residences will not be affected by this project.
More information on this project following the jump.
The street lighting system in the Oakmont – Fairmont Neighborhood is a high-voltage system that is antiquated and obsolete. Over the years, these lights have been a constant source of maintenance problems.
The unique incandescent lamp that operates with the system is no longer being manufactured. The Philips Corporation, the only remaining manufacturer of these lamps, recently stopped production of the lamps without warning. The City has a very small supply of replacement lamps and there are no more available on the market.
To avoid lengthy lighting outages, the best option available is to replace the system with modern street light fixtures. To do this, the system needs to be rewired. The intent is to use existing conduit and poles (to maintain the current historic look), remove the obsolete wire, and install new wiring, fixtures, ballasts, and lamps.
On August 24, 2011 City Council awarded a contract to Macadee Electrical Construction Inc. to perform this work. Crews are expected to begin work in the neighborhood the week of September 19, 2011. The work will take approximately five weeks. Due to the high voltage of the existing system, the power will need to be turned off for the safety of the workers and the community. We will make every attempt to minimize the time the lights are off.
If you have any questions, contact Kurt Wiemann at 714-647-5639 or kwiemann@santa-ana.org.