Erdman Anthony : Your Turtle Lighting Experts

Your Turtle Lighting Experts

Details on Turtle-Friendly Lighting Design Projects:

SR A1A/Ocean Blvd. (Palm Beach County line to SR 800/Spanish River Blvd.), Boca Raton, FL
Erdman Anthony provided highway design and land surveying services for SR A1A, a 4.8-mile 3R project. The project involved minor widening, drainage improvements, and specialized lighting to accommodate the sea turtle nesting and hatching season. The intent of the project was to resurface the existing roadway and provide a continuous 10-foot-wide pedestrian pathway along the entire west side of the corridor. Pedestrian upgrades included the installation of truncated domes at all pedestrian ramps and coordination with the City of Boca Raton for five new mid-block pedestrian crossings. Traffic signal upgrades included the addition of video detectors to replace conventional in-pavement sensor loops and pedestrian countdown displays. This project also included several coordination meetings with the City of Boca Raton and one public information meeting that was attended by the local residents and city staff. As we provided the 3R services on this project the challenge of "turtle-friendly" lighting arose. Roadway lighting interferes with the nesting of female turtles and is particularly disastrous for young hatchlings, which travel towards the lights instead of the sea. Our traffic/transportation expert, Nisar Khan, Ph.D., P.E., PTOE, worked closely with the FDOT and the City of Boca Raton to resolve this issue.
The objective was to minimize the negative impact of roadway lighting on turtle nesting and hatchling activities while ensuring the safety of the traveling public. Pole-mounted roadway lights are known to discourage turtle nesting and disorient turtle hatchlings. Embedded pavement lights (LED pavement markers) were installed as opposed to overhead lighting to avoid this problem. Our work on this project and the resulting recognition of our expertise in this area led the FDOT to select Erdman Anthony to develop alternative lighting design standards for environmentally sensitive coastal areas in Florida. These standards will ultimately be used statewide by the FDOT and others working in coastal regions. Owner: Florida Department of Transportation, District 4 This project was awarded the 2009 Grand Award for Engineering Excellence by Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers (FICE) and was a 2009 National Finalist in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) competition.

SR A1A, Broward County (Miami/Dade County line
to the Palm Beach County line), FL

Erdman Anthony was contracted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District 4, Planning and Environmental Management Office, to develop lighting plans for retrofitting existing roadway lights on SR A1A from the Miami/Dade County line to the Palm Beach County line (approximately 24 miles in length) in Broward County. This fast-track project identified existing pole-mounted luminaires spilling light over adjacent sea turtle nesting beaches. These problem lights included FDOT standard Cobraheads and several types of decorative luminaires and light fixtures.

The project required extensive research and coordination with municipalities, FPL and FDOT District Lighting Engineer Office to develop acceptable design options. Erdman Anthony used innovative approaches (e.g., worked with GPS coordinates for the existing poles to avoid expensive and time-consuming topographic survey) to develop the project plans within a short schedule. We developed design details and specifications for retrofitting the lights and prepared traffic control plans and a cost estimate for close to 500 FDOT standard Cobraheads and decorative lights. The retrofit design replaced the existing high-intensity (250 watts or higher) luminaires with 150-watt shielded luminaires. Using low-intensity luminaires and shielding them resulted, in some cases, in illumination levels that were lower than required by FDOT standards. This necessitated preparation of a lighting design variation package for FDOT approval.

Because no workable internal/external shields were found for the Acorn type decorative luminaires, these lights were turned off during the sea turtle nesting and hatching season from March through October. Erdman Anthony also provided post-design services and prepared as-built plans for the lighting retrofit work. The project was completed in 2008 and has been very well-received by road users and residents. Owner: Florida Department of Transportation, District 4

Articles published on SR AIA/ Ocean Boulevard Project

	Click here to read an article on this project published in Government Engineering magazine.
	Click here to read an article on this project published on CE News on line magazine.

SR A1A, Broward County (Miami/Dade County line to the Palm Beach County line), FL
Erdman Anthony was contracted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District 4, Planning and Environmental Management Office, to develop lighting plans for retrofitting existing roadway lights on SR A1A from the Miami/Dade County line to the Palm Beach County line (approximately 24 miles in length) in Broward County. This fast-track project identified existing pole-mounted luminaires spilling light over adjacent sea turtle nesting beaches. These problem lights included FDOT standard Cobraheads and several types of decorative luminaires and light fixtures.
The project required extensive research and coordination with municipalities, FPL and FDOT District Lighting Engineer Office to develop acceptable design options. Erdman Anthony used innovative approaches (e.g., worked with GPS coordinates for the existing poles to avoid expensive and time-consuming topographic survey) to develop the project plans within a short schedule. We developed design details and specifications for retrofitting the lights and prepared traffic control plans and a cost estimate for close to 500 FDOT standard Cobraheads and decorative lights. The retrofit design replaced the existing high-intensity (250 watts or higher) luminaires with 150-watt shielded luminaires. Using low-intensity luminaires and shielding them resulted, in some cases, in illumination levels that were lower than required by FDOT standards. This necessitated preparation of a lighting design variation package for FDOT approval. Because no workable internal/external shields were found for the Acorn type decorative luminaires, these lights were turned off during the sea turtle nesting and hatching season from March through October. Erdman Anthony also provided post-design services and prepared as-built plans for the lighting retrofit work. The project was completed in 2008 and has been very well-received by road users and residents. Owner: Florida Department of Transportation, District 4