GOVERNMENT would have to shell out close to $500 000 on materials alone to replace the poles and fixtures along the Spring Garden and ABC Highways.
An investigation into the dark and potentially dangerous unlit streets has revealed that it would take thousands of dollars to illuminate the roads.
A pole and fixtures can cost up to $12 000 while a bulb can cost $200. However, a destroyed pole can also result in destroyed underground cables on both sides of a pole, which goes for $7.50 per foot, with there being approximately 150 feet of cable between poles.
A WEEKEND NATION team counted more than 50 unlit bulbs and more than two dozen missing poles along both highways. Extrapolate this to the number of empty spaces along the highways where lamp posts are “supposed to be” and the cost can easily reach into the millions. The cost does not include labour. (CA)
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