HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Neon purple lighting shining down on the roads of Hopkinsville is officially a thing of the past thanks to the hard work of the Hopkinsville Electric System. During the Jan. 21 Hopkinsville City Council meeting, HES General Manager Jeff Hurd shared that after a couple of years of replacing bulbs, the job is finished.
Last year in January of 2024, Hurd presented the council with an update on the purple lighting situation. At that time, they had been able to replace 1,800 bulbs and had a plan to put in orders to acquire more replacements. They were focusing on the busy roads like County Club Lane, Pembroke Road, and Fort Campbell Boulevard, and then came back to tackle neighborhoods and subdivisions.
Fast forward to Tuesday’s meeting where he shared that all of the bulbs have been replaced, with a total of over 2,600 affected lights. “I’m happy this is the last year we are talking about purple streetlights,” Hurd told the council.
The blacklight effect from the purple lights was caused by a factory defect that impacted cities across the country. Between 2017 and 2018, HES purchased the streetlights from ADL during the citywide switch to LED. These types of bulbs are naturally purple, but factories place a manufactured coating on it that make the light appear white. The defect caused this coating to rapidly deteriorate and expose the natural color.
Hurd added that an odd colored light may still pop up from time to time along state owned roads, which is out of their jurisdiction.
DON’T MISS A STORY: Click here to sign up for our free weekly email newsletter