ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Robertsdale City Council approved a pair of measures at its council meeting Monday to replace 120 incandescent street lights along Highway 59 from Central Baldwin Middle School to County Road 48 with new LED energy-efficient light fixtures.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve two resolutions at Monday night’s council meeting accepting a $100,000 grant.

First, the council voted to approve Resolution No. 013-11 to accept the grant, then voted to approve Resolution No. 014-11 to approve the use of a grant administrator.

“Highway 59 is the major thoroughfare for Baldwin County residents and visitors traveling to the beaches,” said City Engineer Greg Smith in a press release issued Tuesday. “The existing incandescent street lights, located within the city limits, give off poor lighting. The LED lights will cast out a brighter light providing better visibility for motorists along this highly trafficked road.”

According to Smith, the annual cost of power is $120.90 and estimated bulb life is an average of 22,000 hours for each of the existing incandescent fixtures. For one of the new LED fixtures, the annual cost of power is approximately $39 and estimated bulb life is 50,000 hours.

“The new lights will utilize less power, thus reducing energy costs and will also require less maintenance and repair,” Smith said.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.