He has been working on traffic lights for 41 years: Andreas Brüggemann (57) from Yunex Traffic Photo: Sven Meissner
By Sara Orlos Fernandes
Even a traffic light needs to be retired! On Wednesday, seven traffic light men installed new traffic light men at the system for the Rudi-Dutschke-Straße/Lindenstraße intersection. Since they were 18 years old and no longer energy efficient, new signal heads had to be found.
“Before we had ten volt lamps here, now the intersection is getting LEDs,” says Andreas Brüggemann (57). He has been changing traffic lights for 41 years. For him, no day is like the other. When he looks inside the masts, there is always a surprise: “Sometimes it turns out to be accident damage, sometimes something else,” he says.
The traffic light man attaches one of the eight new pedestrian light signals Photo: Sven Meissner
The traffic light men unscrewed, screwed on and checked 13 new vehicle, eight pedestrian and four arrow signals on Wednesday. While they worked, the police directed traffic.
Throughout the day, police officers had to regulate traffic at the intersection Photo: Sven Meissner
According to the Senate Administration, ten traffic lights throughout Berlin have already been renovated to make them more energy-efficient this year. They still have to be replaced at 53 crossings.
A Senate spokesman: “The implementation will take place gradually over the course of the year.”
Goodbye you old lightbulb traffic lights! The dismantled signal heads are now scrapped Photo: Sven Meissner