This NCDOT Roadway Lighting service provides the statewide point dataset representing Control Panels, High Mast light poles (60 - 120 feet high), and Single Arm and Twin Arm light poles (45 feet). High Mast light poles have a ring of multiple lights atop the pole. Single Arm light poles have one light and are usually mounted along shoulders. Twin Arm light poles have two lights and mounted in medians. Control Panels can be found along all roadways, while NCDOT light poles are located mostly along interstate and major US highways.

A group of light poles are associated with a single Control Panel in an NCDOT Project. Attribute data includes a Google Street View link, a link to the lighting plans, the TIP ID, the Panel Box Control System ID, and the Control System Record (CSR) number, the unique identifier assigned to each Panel Box. Multiple Panel Boxes can be associated in one Project and will have the same link to the online plans. If there is a reconfiguration of an interchange and/or a Panel Box is replaced, a new CSR identifier is assigned (CSR IDs are not reused). Panel Boxes are usually set back from ramps/streets near the edge of the Right of Way. They can often be hidden in the woods.

The primary purpose of roadway lighting is to provide improved safety, security, and aesthetics for the various users of the roadway and associated facilities. Roadway lighting assists drivers in recognizing the geometry and conflict points of the roadway at extended distances, thereby simplifying the driving task at night. This increases driver visual comfort and reduces driver fatigue, which helps contribute to highway safety. For more information see Chapter 16 Roadway Lighting and Electrical in the NCDOT Roadway Design Manual.

NCDOT’s Roadway Lighting Policy Statement:

Roadway lighting may be beneficial in the reduction of nighttime accidents and in the identification of conflict points along the roadway by motorists. Because it is not economically feasible to light every conflict point along the roadways of the State, it is the policy of the Department to construct and maintain lighting systems at interchanges and along continuous sections of fully controlled access (C/A) roadways which meet specific criteria established by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the NCDOT Roadway Lighting Committee. The Department will allow the construction and maintenance of lighting systems by local governing bodies on State maintained roadways in accordance with the manual titled Policies and Procedures for Accommodating Utilities on Highway Rights of Way (Utility Manual) through the encroachment process.

The full NCDOT Roadway Lighting Policy document is available here: