SYCAMORE | Sycamore lights will be a bit brighter by the end of the year.

Sycamore City Council, at its meeting last Monday, allocated funds to assist the Illinois Department of Transportation in traffic signal renovations along state-marked routes. The city will work with IDOT to replace all the incandescent halogen bulbs with longer-lasting light-emitting diode, or LED, modules.

“The new lights are more reliable and cost less to run,” said 2nd Ward Alderman Pete Paulsen. “It’s definitely the wave of the future.”

The entire operation will cost about $52,000. IDOT will pay 55 to 60 percent of that, leaving the city responsible for less than half of the overall installation, said Sycamore City Manager Bill Nicklas.

“Our share is $20,540, which comes just under 40 percent,” Nicklas said. “I think savings are the main attraction here. This is an opportunity for us to participate at slightly less cost.”

LED lights are brighter than incandescent bulbs, creating better visibility. They also last longer and are good for the driving public in terms of maintenance, Paulsen said.

“It’s definitely a more modern type of lamp,” Nicklas said. “The existing ones just burn out like your home ones do. They’re more expensive and require more power to operate.”

Nicklas noted one disadvantage to the proposed lighting changes.

“The only downside is unlike incandescent bulbs, where a chair lift is used to change the bulb, the new lights require you to change the whole module. This includes the base as well as the lamp,” Nicklas said.

Signals at eight different locations in Sycamore will lose their incandescent bulbs in favor of the more efficient LEDs.

“The city has thought about this for some time now,” Nicklas said. “IDOT has some grant money available, which will assist us.”

Nicklas said the city does not know when these changes are expected to occur.

“We’ll work together with IDOT,” he said. “The lights will be up within the next year, definitely.”