By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood - Excel Energy's efforts to improve its infrastructure continued in Ironwood Thursday, including replacing aging street lights.
Around 30 street lights in the downtown area are being replaced, according to Xcel Energy spokesperson Chris Ouellette.
"We're upgrading them to LED and to fiberglass poles," Ouellette said. "That's probably going to be the most notable difference for folks in Ironwood.
"A lot of the poles, and some of our conductors and lines up there; they date back to the 1950s."
The new LEDS are similar to ones installed in Wisconsin - including Iron County - in recent years, and not only use directional lighting to reduce glare but are also less expensive to operate.
There are still a few weeks of work left with the street light conversions, Ouellette said, with work also being done to upgrade the company's underground gas lines. Overall, the above-and below-ground upgrades are expected to take at least another month to complete.
"We're just doing our best to upgrade and make sure the system is robust and everybody will have reliable power," Ouellette said.
She was unsure if the underground work would necessitate any road closures, but asked people be patient and aware of any workers or activity when in a work zone.