619 SECTION 659 SIGN LIGHTING 659.1 -DESCRIPTION : Sign lighting shall consist of furnishing and installing or modifying sign illumination systems, including all necessary accessories, in accordance with the Plans and the following Specifications or as directed by the Engineer. All electrical equipment shall conform to the standards of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the Underwriters ’ Laboratories, Inc. (UL), or the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), whichever is applicable. In add ition to the requirements of the Plans and these Specifications, all materials and workmanship shall conform to the requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC), referred to as the Code; the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM); the American National Standards Association (ANSI); The American Wire Gauge (AWG), and any local ordinances which may apply. Wherever reference is made in these Specifications to the Code or to the standards mentioned above, the references shall mean the code or standard, including revisions, that is in effect at the time of the award of the contract. 659.2 -MATERIALS : The materials furnished and used shall be new, except as may be specifically provided on the Plans. The mat erials shall be manufactured, handled, and used in a workmanlike manner to insure a completed installation in accordance with the Plans and Specifications. All electrical materials shall conform to the special requirements and to the Standardization Rules of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, IPCEA and, when governing, shall also conform to the National Electrical Code, local and special laws or ordinances, and the Underwriter ’s Laboratories. 659.2.1 -Electrical Material Documentation and Certification: All work, equipment, and documentation shall conform to 715.43. 659.2.2 -Conduit: All conductors shall be run in conduit, except for overhead or temporary installations and where conductors are run inside poles. Conduit to be installed underground, on the surface of poles, or in structures, except as shown on the Plans, shall be Type R, Type F, Type P, or Type H as follows:
i.Type R (Rigid Steel Conduit) shall meet the requirements of Section 715.42.10.1. ii. Type F (Flexible, Liquid -Tight Conduit) shall meet the requirements of Section
715.42.10 2.
iii. Type P (Polyvinyl Chloride Conduit) shall meet the requirements of Section
715.42.10 3.
iv. Type H (High Density Polyethylene Conduit) shall meet the requirements of Section
715.42.10 4.
Standard and expansion couplings and other fittings for the Type P conduit shall all be of the same materials as the conduit. Other fittings for metal conduit shall be threaded malleable iron conforming to the requirements of ASTM A338 and shall be galvani zed in accordance with the requirements of ASTM A153. The size of conduit used shall be as shown on the Plans or as specified. If size is not shown on the Plans, the National Electrical Code shall govern as to the necessary conduit size. 659.2.3 -Pull or Junction Boxes: Pull or junction boxes for structure installation shall be as shown on Plans or Type L. Boxes for ground (including sidewalk) installation shall be Type H (10 ”x10”). Type L shall meet the requirements of 715.42.11.1. Typ e H (10 ”x10”) shall meet the requirements of TES-50 and Section 715.42.11.2. 659.2.4 -Cable: All wire and cable for sign lighting branch circuits shall conform to the requirements of the current edition of the National Electrical Code and shall meet all relevant ASTM Specifications. Conductors shall be coated softdrawn copper, unless otherwise noted on the Plans or in these Specifications. Insulation shall be Type THWN. Cable shall be UL approved. Conductor sizes shall be standard American Wire Gauge sizes and shall be as noted on the Plans. All conductors shall be stranded. Stranded wire sha ll have a minimum of 19 strands. Wire and cable for sign lighting projects included with roadway lighting projects shall be the same type as specified for the roadway lighting project. All wire and cable shall have the size, voltage rating, and type o f insulation and manufacturer ’s name permanently marked on the outer covering at regular intervals. The Manufacturer shall furnish to the Engineer and the Contractor all splicing or terminating information necessary for proper installation of the cable. Color coding for sign lighting cables shall be permanent solid color as follows: Single Phase Three Phase Leg A Black Phase A Black Leg B Red Phase B Red Neutral White or Natural Gray Phase C White or Natural Gray Equipment Ground Green Equipment Ground Green Color coding of electrical conductors by use of phase tape or field paint is not acceptable. Conductors shall be manufacturer -colored, striped or ridge -marked. Bare ground conductors shall be softdrawn copper, unless otherwise specified. 659.2.5 -Connectors: Cable connections in boxes and handholes shall be made by means of connector kits, fused or non -fused, as indicated on the Plans. Splices for the signs shall be made by means of straight through or “Y” connector kits as required and as noted on the Plans. Where these connector kits cannot be used, as verified by the Engineer, connections on cables in junction boxes shall be made by splicing as described elsewhere. Fused “Y” connectors, if requ ired, shall be composed of “Y” line side housing assembled with a load side and fuse terminal housing. The housing shall be formed from water -resistant synthetic rubber. Each housing shall provide a water seal around the cables and when fully assembled shall form a watertight connector. The interior shall be arranged to receive and retain line side wiring and the fuse contacts. The fuse contacts shall be spring -loaded copper designed for 30 amperes, 600 volts; shall have 90 percent (90%) minimum co nductivity and shall be suitable for gripping a 10 amp, 600 volt cartridge -type midget fuse, 13/32 inch in diameter and 1 -1/3 inches long. The contacts shall be fully annealed. The load side conductors shall be connected by crimping and the line side 621 cond uctors shall be connected with screws. The connector shall be of the nonlocking type that will break off under extreme tensile stress leaving no exposed metal contacts on the line side of the connector. The cable diameters used shall determine the size of each housing. The load side housing shall retain the fuse when disconnected. Non-fused connectors shall be similar to the fused “Y” connectors. The cable diameter shall determine the size of each housing of each connector. Fuses for connectors shall be rated at 10 amperes, unless otherwise noted. 659.2.6 -Bonding and Grounding: Metallic cable sheaths, conduit, transformer cases, anchor belts, and metal poles and pedestals shall be made mechanically and electrically secure to form a continuous system and shall be effectively grounded. Bonding and grounding jumpers shall be copper wire or copper strap of the same cross sectional area as #4 AWG for all lighting systems. Ground rods shall be copper clad steel, ¾ inches in diameter wi th a minimum length as noted on the plans and shall be one piece. Sectional or segmented ground rods are not permitted. The ground rods shall be complete with ground clamp and square head bolt. 659.2.7 -Service: Service equipment for a sign lighting sy stem shall be provided as required by the Plans unless changed by the Engineer to meet a local condition. Where a meter is required, a meter base complete with sealing rings shall be installed by the Contractor. Installation of electric meter and final ho okup shall be done by the serving utility company. A circuit breaker mounted in a NEMA Type 4 (dust and moisture proof) enclosure shall be installed as indicated on the Standard Drawings. 659.2.8 -Wood Poles: All wood poles shall meet the requirements o f Section 710.8. 659.2.9 -Enclosures: Pole mounted enclosures for sign lighting shall of the type shown on the Plans and shall be NEMA Type 4 (dust and moisture proof). The design shall be of AISI 300 Series stainless steel with a flange mounted switch handle and a double defeater cover lock mechanism. Enclosure locks shall be such that all enclosures on the project can be opened with the same key. Locks shall be of quality bronze construction with bronze keeper chains. Enclosure mounting brackets fo r mounting the enclosure on the sign support shall be as shown on the Plans. 659.2.10 -Sign Lighting Fixtures: Type 3 (Mercury Vapor Sign Light) 100, 175 or 250 Watt: The Type 3 luminaire shall be of the remote ballast, 100, 175 or 250 -watt as indicat ed on the plans, mercury vapor type, furnished complete with housing, mounting bracket, reflector, refractor, lamp socket, ballast and lamp; Hollophane, Guth, G.E. or equal as approved by the Engineer. The luminaire shall be 250 watt unless otherwise indi cated. The housing shall be die -cast aluminum with captive closed cell neoprene and felt double gasketing. Closure shall be positive by use of stainless steel pressure latches and stainless steel hinges. The reflector shall be asymmetric polished alum inum. The refractor shall be molded prismatic thermal shock resisting borosilicate glass. 622 The lamp socket shall be of a heavy duty type and be provided with adjustable settings for varying beam pattern. The ballast shall be 100, 175 or 250 watt high p ower factor constant wattage or constant wattage auto transformer for use with appropriate lamp and system voltage. The lamp shall be 100, 175 or 250 watt deluxe white mercury vapor heavy glass type with rated life of 24,000 hours, equal to ANSI Code H38 -4HT (100), H39 -22KB (175) or H37- 5KB (250). The complete luminaire optical assembly consisting of reflector, refractor, lamp socket position and lamps shall produce a light distribution conforming to the Isofootcandle and Utilization Curves of Guth Vertol Signliter, Hollophane 780 Express lite or eq ual as approved by the Engineer. 659.2.11 -Photoelectric Controls (For Independent Sign Light System Only): WVDOH shall not need or require a photocell at each overhead sign structure containing sign lighting to turn sign lights On and Off if a control station running the sign lights already contains a photocell either by design in the Plans or previously field installed. Photoelectric controls shown on the Plans shall be capable of switching multiple fluorescent luminaires directly. The photo cell shall consist of a light -sensitive element connected directly to a control relay and shall be equipped with circuitry designed to accept a supply voltage of 120 volts, unless otherwise indicated on the Plans. The unit shall be preset to “turn on” be tween one ( 1.0) and 3.5 foot candles. “Turn off” shall be at least two times the “turn on” level; however, “turn off” must be greater than 3.0 and less than fifteen ( 15.0) foot candles. The unit shall meet all relevant NEMA standards and shall be twist -lock type equipped for pole-top mounting using a slip fitter or conduit stem, or where pole -top mounting is impossible, bracket mounting to the side of the pole. The unit shall be north oriented. The unit shall be utility grade locking -type photo control s with a two ( 2) to five ( 5) second time delay. 659.2.12 -Marking: Each overhead sign structure containing sign lighting shall be identified by control station number (as applicable) and circuit number (as applicable) with adhesive labels applied six (6) feet above the grade line normal to the roadway. Adhesive labels shall be designed to be exposed to the weather. Legend shall be three ( 3) inches black on white. Also, each corresponding control station feeding sign lighting shall be identified by “WV DOH” label and control station number (as applicable) and corresponding voltage (as applicable) with adhesive labels on the control station door. The same adhesive label specifications apply as are stated above for the sign lighting labels. CONSTRUCTION METHODS 659.3 -GENERAL : Existing electrical systems (traffic signal, highway and street lighting, flashing beacon, and sign illumination), or approved temporary replacements thereof, shall be in effective operation for the benefit of the traveling public during the progress of the work, except when shut -down is permitted to allow for alterations or final removal of the systems. All systems shall be complete and in operation to the satisfaction of the Engineer upon comp letion of all the work. This includes field focusing of lamp fixtures.
Source: West Virginia Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, 2023 Edition. Pages 639–642 of 1,006.