Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LANETT — One of the most important power poles in Lanett is being replaced. A 40-foot wooden pole at the corner of Cherry Drive and North Lanier Avenue is being swapped out for a similar-sided concrete pole.

The change is part of the ongoing streetscape project. Every wooden pole along North Lanier from Cherry Drive to the bridge over Tanyard Creek is being replaced. The pole that was replaced on Monday is the only one going up that’s concrete. The others to go up will be 40-foot-tall iron poles. They will look better than the worn, wooden poles and will provide for better, more cost-efficient LED lighting over the street.

Over & Under Contractors, Inc. of Suwanee, Georgia is the contractor for the pole replacement at the intersection of Cherry Drive and North Lanier. The pole being replaced has internet and phone lines along with electrical lines.

According to Mayor Kyle McCoy, the City of Lanett is cooperating with the City of Valley in bringing LED lighting to Exit 77 on I-85. Lanett will be responsible for the improvements on the north side and Valley will be bringing this type of lighting to the south side.

The two cities are also working together to improve the lighting at Exit 79. Though this is a well-traveled exit, there hasn’t been any significant lighting improvements there since I-85 opened in the 1960s. The two cities are seeking grant funding from the state and federal levels to assist with the project. Plans call for the improved lighting to extend along the south-bound lane from Exit 79 to the new visitor center that’s under construction.