First phase of Rehoboth Avenue streetlight conversion complete
Years in the making, the first phase of Rehoboth Beach converting Rehoboth Avenue’s lights to LED has been completed.
During a commissioner meeting Oct. 17, City Manager Taylour Tedder announced the city had recently finished the installation of new LED streetlights in the median of Rehoboth Avenue.
The city has been discussing the conversion to LED streetlights for at least five years. Funding for the project was initially included in the budget for Fiscal Year 2021. However, the supply chain issues in the early 2020s caused delays. There were further delays in 2023 when the city received arms that did not match the existing arms and didn’t attach to the poles correctly. There are 33 doubles and four singles along the median.
The city budgeted $105,000 for installing 33 doubles and four singles along the median in the current fiscal year. Brooke Thaler, city communications director, said in an email Nov. 6, the final payout hasn’t happened yet, but the expectation is that the cost will be significantly less.
In addition to the LED conversion, the new median lights include technology allowing the median to be controlled remotely, said Thaler. The city is working on that now with the manufacturer, she said.
The second phase of the project includes changing Rehoboth Avenue’s sidewalk lights to LED. There are about 110 sidewalk lights.
During the meeting, Tedder said the city has received an $80,000 energy-efficiency grant for the second phase, and it will be included in the budget for next year.
The second phase will go out to bid in a few months, with installation occurring next year, said Thaler. The city doesn’t know the exact cost of that installation, she said.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
