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Murphy‚Äö?Ñ?¥s Law Also Applies to Light Poles10-29-07 | News

Murphy?EUR??,,????'???s Law Also Applies to Light Poles




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Tuscaloosa, Ala. public works crewmen install new streetlight holding arms on the Hugh Thomas Bridge. Photo by Dan Lopez, Tuscaloosa News.


Light poles seem like a rather straightforward specification, but Murphy?EUR??,,????'???s Law says ?EUR??,,????'??If anything can go wrong, it will,?EUR??,,????'?? or words to that effect. Alabama is having trouble with light poles. The Jemison’s City Council voted to extend the 14 light poles at City Park by three feet, because motorists and joggers have complained they are too bright. The retrofit will cost $1,400. Hmmm ?EUR??,,????'??? maybe a lower wattage bulb?

Tuscaloosa, Ala. is having a different kind of lighting problem. After the third large streetlight fell on the Hugh Thomas Bridge, the city knew it had a problem. Fortunately no one was injured and no vehicles were damaged.

StressCrete, a Canadian-based company that manufactured the light arms is replacing all 41 of them at no cost to the city. The new support arms will have a different design and be made of steel instead of aluminum. StressCrete engineers will be examining the old supports to see what gives. They have not encountered this problem before, but it may be a metal fatigue problem caused by the constant vibrations absorbed by the bridge and its structures from the tens of thousands of cars using the span each day.

Tera Wyatt, the director of the Tuscaloosa DOT, told the Tuscaloosa News StressCrete did an outstanding job in quickly getting new light arms ready for installation.

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