Only LED lights on Flemish highways by 2027

All lighting systems along the Flemish highways should be equipped with LED lights by 2027, three years earlier than previously announced. Switching to LED lights would be an important money-saver. Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) is willing to invest 25 million euros in it.

Today, the Flemish highways are equipped with about 30 000 lighting poles. Most of them still are traditional lights, and only 40% are equipped with LEDs. Switching to LED lights would yield 1,4 euros of savings annually.

Remotely controlled

Another important advantage is that LEd lighting can be remotely dimmed or switched on and off depending on the circumstances. “This way we can fully stick to our principle, to switch the lights off when justified, and to switch them on when necessary,” Peeters explains.

Also, on the regional roads in Flanders, the infrastructure will change. By 2025, all lighting – about 78 000 poles – on regional roads should be equipped with LEDs. The transformation will require an 84,5-euro investment.

‘Emergency team’

Apart from improved lighting infrastructure, Minister Peeters also wants to create a kind of ’emergency team’ to turn out immediately after a serious accident. This team is expected to register the circumstances of the accident and analyze which quick interventions could improve the existing infrastructure and avoid similar accidents in the future.

According to Minister Peeters, it is unacceptable that, after a fatal accident, relatives often pass the scene of the accident to notice that nothing has changed.