All of the faulty adaptors on streetlights in Wellington have now been removed. Photo: Supplied / Wellington City Council
The Wellington City Council says a project to fix faulty street lights around the capital has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget.
About 17,000 LED streetlights with adaptors were installed in 2018, designed to accommodate the city's hilly topography.
But last year the council decided to remove the adaptors, after receiving reports of 17 lights falling to the ground and 161 drooping.
The faulty component was an aluminium-alloy adaptor, which is part of the structure attaching 11.2kg LED lamps to poles.
Last year the council commissioned engineering laboratory WSP to stress-test a sample of the fixtures. The testing showed that, despite the adaptors being able to carry a static load of up to 60kg, they were "unsuitable" for Wellington's windy conditions and were fatiguing over time.
The testing also strongly indicated that, contrary to earlier assessment, all adaptors had the potential to fail, although the heavier adaptors in the city's windiest areas were most at risk.
But the council said all of the adaptors have now been removed.
It said the project came in 10 months ahead of schedule and $800,000 dollars under budget.