Crews from the Illuminating Company have begun to replace utility poles in town, targeting Center Road with some of the first pole replacements last week.

Mark Sellards | The Bedford Tribune Utility workers perform their “high wire act” on a new utility pole (right) on Center Road, Friday

Lauren Siburkis, a spokeswoman for the utility company, said the the poles being replaced were identified as a priority during the recent inspections of the electrical system.

Bedford City Manager, Mike Mallis, said these type of replacements will be commonplace throughout the summer, as more than 400 poles are planning to be changed over by the end of 2020. The plan is for about 300 more to be replaced by the end of 2021.

Mallis said along with the wooden poles, crews are also replacing important electrical equipment to hopefully bring more stability to the system.

“This is a good thing for Bedford,” he said of this necessary improvement.

He said that in the past, certain areas in the city have been prone to electrical outages. The hope is that with the new equipment, there will be fewer outages in the city, and the outages that do take place will take a shorter duration to fix.

Mark Sellards | The Bedford Tribune A Illuminating Company Digger Derrick waits on a side street, ready for use in boring the holes for the new utility pole and also setting them in place.
Mark Sellards | The Bedford Tribune Workers continue the task of upgrading the utility pole on Center Road, Friday.