Why are there no street lights on the highway？

LED street lights are designed to provide drivers a clear view of the cars on the road and are crucial to their ability to drive safely.It may have escaped your attention, but the roadway is devoid of LED street lights."Do you know that there are no LED street lights on the highway?" I once questioned a bunch of pals. Alas, most of them said, "I really didn't notice." Actually, apart from significant bridges and tunnels, LED street lights are not often installed on roads. On typical metropolitan roadways, LED street lights are present; nevertheless, high-speed highways lack street lighting. Why?

Currently, China's expressway's main line is essentially devoid of street lamps. The intercommunication zone has just LED high mast lights installed, whereas the tunnel's entrance has street lights and tunnel lights. This is a result of the maintenance issues, expense, and safety.


The intermittent nature of street light illumination and the restricted exposure distance are factors that compromise driving safety.Urban trunk road lights typically have a beam length of between 30 and 33 meters, with the center point between the two poles being the darkest and the brightest point being beneath the pole.

In the event that the highway is constructed identically to the urban trunk road, then a car traveling at 120 km/h will cover 33.3 m in a second, cycling from the brightest to the darkest point once per second. The 1Hz strobe line keeps coming into focus, which may easily lead to visual fatigue and compromise the driver's safety while driving.

In addition, installing LED street lights on the roadway requires a significant financial and human investment. Long-term investment will also be needed for the upkeep or the supply of power. If no vehicle is on the length of the highway when the streetlight is on, the electricity will be wasted.

It is thus neither scientific nor energy-saving to put lights on a speedway.

On the other hand, some roads may add high tower lights for supplemental illumination at ramps, interchanges, and significant bridges (such as cross-sea bridges). In tunnel developments, there will also be the installation of street lighting and tunnel lights.