Conversion of more than 1,100 incandescent lamps to LED in traffic signals and pedestrian signals downtown has begun this week. Completion of the project is scheduled for March 2011, weather permitting.

This project already is saving energy in the first couple of days. Before installation of LED signals at Archer Street and Boulder Avenue, amperage readings were at 10 amps. After installation of LED signals, the project manager took a reading of 1.8 amps – a significant savings.

“Projects like this move us forward toward greater conservation,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said. “For these downtown signals, we will realize an estimated annual savings of $44,500 and 688,000 kilowatt hours.”

The City of Tulsa has contracted with Traffic & Lighting Systems LLC, for this $647,121 project. Funding has come from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, or stimulus.

The contractor will work multiple shifts, including some night work, to finish the project quickly. Exceptions to this work schedule include rush hours from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and between the hours of 7 p.m. and midnight within a five-block radius of the BOK Center.

LED, or light-emitting diodes, extend the life of traffic signals, use less energy and require less maintenance. The new LED pedestrian signals will count down seconds while the “Don’t Walk” symbol flashes, until it stays lit.

With completion of this project, all pole-mounted traffic signals downtown will have been converted to LED. Traffic signals on mast arms still remain to be changed.