Monroe County Airport Completes Lighting Upgrade

By Wes Kirkpatrick, Manager
Monroe County Airport

As part of a recently completed $415,000 lighting project, Monroe County Airport’s Runway 18 has new LED lights.

Monroe County Airport recently completed a $415,000 lighting project. The project involved replacing the existing 21-year-old incandescent runway lights with LED. Also replaced were the older style strobe REILs on Runway 18 with new LEDs. An addition of LED REILs to runway 36 was also included, which complements the addition of an LED PAPI to runway 36 completed in 2018. Prior to that, runway 36 didn’t have any Visual Guidance Lighting Systems (VGLS). The windsock received an overhaul as well, changing from an external incandescent flood lighting system to an LED internal floodlight.

The airport had never had taxiway lighting along its parallel taxiway, other than a few marking the turn offs from the runway. The parallel taxiway is now fully lit with LEDs, as are the turn offs to all hangar taxiways and ramp. The airport opted to go with equipment from Airport Lighting Company after a demo light that was in place for six months in an area plagued by ants was not affected. According to the company, their light assemblies are sealed in a way that keeps ants out of the module housing.

All cables were direct buried, and the lights were stake-mounted with the exception of the REILs, which were can-mounted. The lighting vault received an upgrade with a new voltage regulator, lighting control panel and pilot-controlled radio receiver. The work was completed by Webster Electric Co. of Meridian within three months.

The airport looks forward to decreased maintenance and labor costs from the old incandescent system. Energy savings normally associated with LED will be negligible due to our total light count, which has more than doubled with the additional taxiway lights.