The globe lights and poles in downtown Brownsville, which have been a fixture in the area for years, will soon be a thing of the past.
They are being replaced with more energy efficient streetlights that will be installed not only on East Elizabeth Street but streets around Market Square as well.
The Street Lighting Beautification Project is being funded by the Musk Foundation which in June 2021 announced it would be donating $10 million for the revitalization of downtown Brownsville.
The project is an initiative between the City of Brownsville and Brownsville Public Utilities Board.
According to BPUB, “BPUB is assisting the city of Brownsville with the removal and installation of 164 light poles in downtown Brownsville. Improving Brownsville’s infrastructure is also a goal for BPUB, so we are happy to be collaborating with the city on this project to continue building up and beautifying our downtown area. Our crews have been doing a great job assisting city employees on this project as needed, and we hope residents enjoy the new upgrades.”
In an earlier interview, Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said Musk wants downtown to be more of a magnet for the kind of people he needs for SpaceX’s Starship moon and Mars rocket development program at the company’s Boca Chica production complex and launch site, a little over 20 miles east of Brownsville as the crow flies.
“They want to continue to see downtown become a destination,” Mendez said. “They want to see it being something that will help them attract personnel to their company. You want arts and culture. You want destinations. You want something for people to want to come to.”
City officials said the reason the light poles are being replaced is because the current ones are deteriorating and nearing their useful life, “leading to the city identifying the Street Lighting Beautification Project as a high-need area of improvement to provide better accent lighting for pedestrian traffic in the evening.”
The new lights are similar to those in use at the Market Square, and officials said they are complimentary to the current renovations taking place in the downtown area.
The 167 new light fixtures will be installed not only on East Elizabeth Street, but on East Washington Street, East Adams Street between International Boulevard and East Eighth Street, and along East Levee Street between East 10th Street and East 13th Street.
The lights purchase was at $855,450 with each light pole costing about $5,122.46.
City officials are reviewing the conditions of the existing light poles and to decide what to do with them.
Once the Street Lighting Beautification Project is completed, the Brownsville City Commission will receive an update on the project.
