BRIGHT

PROSPECTS
FOR CONCRETE
LIGHT POLES

Reprinted from
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Novem’ber 1966
 Production of concrete lighting standards
now represents $10 million-a-year business
This busy street in St. Louis is served
by prestressed butt-foundation poles
R eflecting the booming growth of
metropolitan America, precast
concrete light poles are helping to fill
an important need. Overhead lighting,
in fact, has become more and more
important on new and old munici-
pal streets, parking lots and urban
expressways. Except for some unin-
corporated areas and purposely se-
cluded residential clusters, street lights
are usually part of the municipal pub-
lic works package built to serve resi-
dents, travelers and customers.
With the proliferation of huge shop-
ping centers, and the resurgence of
many commercial “Main Streets,” has
also come the need for modern, at-
tractive street lighting. And with the
advent of metropolitan freeways and
interstate highways, a sizcable market
for overhead lighting has developed
for concrete products producers.
The basic purpose of any light
standard, be it concrete, wood, alum-
inum or steel, is to support the elec-
trical hardware that actually lights
the way. A pole must be strong, and
it must be stable. It should minimize
Above: Residential areas,. such as this
typical suburban subdivwo?, are excel-
lent markets for concrete light poles
as much as possible vibrations that
can disrupt its lighting function. A
pole should also be attractive, durable,
economical and relatively easy to in-
stall. On all counts, concrete poles
literally more than hold their own.
Due to the inherent properties of
concrete, precast poles are ideal for
outdoor lighting u s e . They are
stronger than most competing poles
and, from any measurement, they are
far more durable and maintenance-
free. Concrete poles are available in
a wide variety of shapes, designs.
sizes and finishes. They are easil!
standardized as to height, base design
and complementary equipment-all
important considerations meeting the
exacting standards of the Illuminating
Engineering Society.
When all factors are considered,
concrete poles are indeed the most
economical, too. This, as we will see
later, is a vital selling point in the
competitive arena populated by cost-
conscious municipal purchasers and
“already-over-budget” architects.
Compared with other concrete pro-
CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Right: Modern expressway lighting
standards are becoming more and more
a part of highway landscapes

ducts industries, the concrete pole

business cannot be considered large.
The manufacture of concrete light
standards is indeed a specialty opera-
tion-and a relatively small one. Con-
crete poles were being made back in
the 1920’s; some poles made then are
still in service today. But for some
reason not easily explained, concrete
has not dominated the overhead light-
ing field.
The most common type of pole, as
one might expect, is wood. Steel poles,
available in many designs, are quite
popular. Aluminum poles are gaining,
but because of their high relative cost
they are on the bottom of the volume
parade. In between steel and alum-
inum comes concrete.
While difficult to assess, yearly
gross sales of concrete poles probably
do not exceed $10 million. One in-
dustry source estimates that about
40,000 to 50,000 of all types of con-
ER& gala! &f! FlmNlB$lUF~d g; y:::.
There are only about six major manu-
facturers currently in the business.
While precast concrete light poles

November, 1966

When net costs are considered,
concrete light poles are anywhere from
$10 to $95 I ess than metal poles
can be of reinforced concrete design,
most are prestressed by the centri-
fugal spinning method. In this latter
technique, concrete is machine-formed
around prestressing steel cables and
then rotated or “spun” at high speed.
In some manufacturing processes,
mix water is separated to the center
of the pole and released through lon-
gitudinal channels or raceways. The
high tensile prestressing steel is usu-
ally required to have an ultimate
strength of at least 250,000 psi, and
a minimum concrete coverage of 1/
In centrifugal spinning method, form is
put in place and bolted before spinning
inch. Concrete mixes can vary, but a
typical specification includes high
early strength cement and % inch
graded aggregate.
After casting, the formed pole is
cured with low temperature steam.
In most cases, concrete must meet
a 24-hour compressive strength of
3,500 psi before prestressing is re-
leased. Finishing is accomplished by
mechanical grinding, either to remove
surface cement to reveal aggregate, or
to remove burrs and rough edges.
One of the big advantages of pre-
stressed light poles is the unique butt
foundation. This bullet-shaped exten-
sion is cast as an integral part of the
pole itself. The butt foundation can be
easily inserted into pre-drilled holes
and wet-tamped into place with
crushed stone or cement-stabilized
backfill.
Municipal officials and contractors
have discovered that butt foundation
installations can save as much as $100
per hole as against conventional foun-
dation-type poles. Installation of butt
foundations poles is easily performed
with truck-mounted A-Frame hoists.
Bolt-down bases, similar in manner
to those on steel and aluminum poles,
can also be cast into the bottoms of
concrete poles. A cast steel anchor
base is secured to the pole’s primary
reinforcement and the loads are trans-
mitted to the anchor bolts.
Bolt-down bases are often required
when poles are specified for replace-
ment on existing footings and founda-
tions. For new work, butt foundations
are much more beneficial.
How do concrete poles compare
&tual 10 to 12 minute spinning opera-
tron at speeds up to 1,600 rpm
with competing poles in weight, cost
and maintenance? A standard, popu-
lar-sized 26-ft. concrete pole; with an
additional five-foot butt extension,
will weigh approximately 1,300 lbs.
This compares with 280 lbs. for a
steel pole and 140 lbs. for aluminum.
However, metal poles require an
average-sized 2 by 2 by 4 ft. concrete
footing weighing 2,400 lbs.
Allowing for 500 lbs. of stone back-
fill for the concrete pole’s butt foun-
dation, the total net weights required
at the job site would be: steel, 2,682
lbs, aluminum, 2,540 lbs and con-
crete, 1,800 lbs.
The extra weight of a concrete pole
is also helpful in supporting elec-
trical hardware that has become longer
and heavier through the years. The
“beef” or extra mass of a concrete
pole means fewer vibrations; as has
been pointed out, this is a very sig-
nificant feature in overhead lighting.
Cost-wise, a prestressed butt foun-
dation runs about $30 to $40 more
than conventional steel poles, and as
much as $50 less than aluminum.
Stripping away forms from finished
steam-cured orestressed concrete Poles
However, added to the installation of
metal poles are the costs attendant
with digging and placing footings
(average cost, $64).
The initial painting of steel poles
adds another $10. The only additional
cost for a concrete pole is the drill-
ing and tamping required for the butt
foundation (average cost, $20).
Therefore, when net costs are con-
sidered, concrete poles are anywhere
from $10 to $95 less than metal poles.
In the all-important field of main-
tenance costs, concrete wins with no
contest. Wood poles must be pre-
served and steel poles must be painted.
Only concrete and aluminum are rela-
tively maintenance-free.
The future of the concrete light
standard industry is certainly related
to the growth and sophistication of
specifying municipalities, highway de-
partments and architects.
As with any concrete product, suc-
cess will be directly related to the in-
herent quality of the manufactured
item and, most of all, to the aggres- Concrete poles come in gray, bleached
sive promotion that is invested. 0 white or any pastel color