The Hindu 02.09.2013
GPS street lamps light up GST Road in Tambaram
Street lamps fitted with global positioning system (GPS) now illuminate parts of Grand Southern Trunk Road in Tambaram.
The
GPS facility will help staff at a dedicated control room monitor the
lamps on the stretch and watch out for damaged ones. The 246 street
lamps, installed on the median of GST Road, were recently dedicated by
Tambaram MLA and Animal Husbandry Minister T.K.M. Chinnayya.
The
lamps also consume less energy. Municipal chairman M. Karikalan said
that the new metal halide lamps consume only 210 watts of power as
opposed to the earlier sodium vapour lamps, which consume 250 watts.
The lamps were installed on a 3.75-m-long stretch between Tambaram Sanatorium and Irumbuliyur.
The control room has been set up at the municipality.
Municipal
commissioner S. Sivasubramanian, said that a number of tests to
check lux (to determine level of illumination), luminosity, road and
traffic patterns among others were done before the system was
implemented.
While the State government sanctioned
Rs. 50 lakh, the municipality spent the remaining Rs. 1.5 crore from its
general funds. The lights will automatically turn on at 6 p.m. and
switch off at 5.30 a.m. and will dim between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., when
traffic is likely to be light, resulting in the further saving of power.
The contractor who installed the new posts will maintain them for a
year.
The metal lamp posts are made of galvanised iron, unlike conventional posts which only have a galvanised iron coating.
The
new posts can withstand strong winds and even absorb shocks in the
event of minor collisions, unlike the earlier ones that would bend or
give way under such circumstances, officials said.