Centennial outlines signal‑pole testing and life‑cycle plan after nondestructive testing finds priority replacements

City staff briefed council on nondestructive structural testing (NDST) of traffic signal poles and related signal infrastructure, presenting immediate mitigations completed after the 2023 field review and identifying two batches of priority replacements that will require capital funding and multi‑year program planning.

Anna Bunce framed the presentation as part of a broader signal infrastructure program: “There is this same kind of concept, but for traffic signal structures... signal structures are steel and our salts and our mag chlorides and all the other things that we use around here... all will tend to degrade steel over time.” Staff said NDST is designed to detect corrosion, weld and structural issues early so the city can repair or replace poles before failure. The city performed a procurement for NDST in 2023 and followed the consultant’s recommendations for on‑site repairs and preventive work; staff reported having completed the recommended mitigations from the last NDST cycle.

Staff described scope and cost considerations: NDST identifies structural problems but does not replace continuing preventive maintenance for wiring, cabinets, controllers, pedestrian pushbuttons (APS), and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Staff said replacement of poles and full intersection rebuilds is often more complex and costly than piecemeal repairs because of conduit, cabinet and constructability constraints. Several council members urged a programmatic life‑cycle replacement fund instead of irregular, large one‑time outlays. Staff agreed, describing a preference for a steady multi‑year budget line to enable rolling design and construction batches rather than episodic emergency replacements.

Staff described two current batches: a near‑term priority set (four intersections, with one to four poles each depending on location) identified for replacement and a second set recommended for replacement in the next three to five years. Staff said most smaller maintenance items flagged in the 2023 NDST — loose anchor bolts, missing handhold covers, localized repainting and one weld repair — have been addressed through preventive maintenance and a contracted repair. Staff also described other field issues the crews encounter (water in pull boxes, deteriorated jacketed wiring, vandalism or damage) and noted longer lead times for pole fabrication (multiple months) that factor into planning.

Council members said they supported a programmatic funding approach to smooth costs and preserve operations, noting that reliable signals are essential to daily travel and safety. Staff said replacements and upgrades present opportunities to add modern features during rebuilds — LED 4‑section protected/permissive signals, center‑lane heads, upgraded cabinets, UPS, PTZ cameras and accessible pushbutton replacements — and that doing whole‑intersection rebuilds where possible reduces long‑term maintenance complexity.

Ending — Next steps: staff will advance design for the first replacement batch to ad and coordinate sequencing so design and construction are staggered across years; staff recommended establishing a recurring capital program line to sustain life‑cycle replacements and to include upgraded components when rebuilding intersections.