"Green" sign greets Georgetown drivers

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) - Drivers heading north into Georgetown on Interstate 35 recently may have seen a new welcome sign at Westinghouse Road. The monument stone sign with the engraved lettering “Georgetown, Texas, Est. 1848” is one of four such signs built on main highways near city imits in recent years.

What may not be apparent is how this newest and largest sign conveys its message in an environmentally-friendly way.

The illumination and landscape irrigation systems for the sign are completely solar-powered. Photovoltaic panels behind the sign charge a battery pack during the day. The batteries store enough energy to power the nighttime LED lights, as well as an irrigation system for landscaping around the sign.

Michael Seery, capital projects manager for the city, said the decision to use the off-the-grid system was initially driven by cost.

“At that location, there was no power available nearby, so a better solution than running a new electric service line a long distance was to use solar power. In this case, solar was the cost-effective way to go," said Seery.

The mercury-free LED lights for the sign, as well as the solar panel and battery pack, were supplied by Ringdale, Inc., an LED lighting manufacturer with U.S. headquarters in Georgetown. Seery said another notable feature of the LED lights is that they were designed to emit no light above the horizontal plane. This means they are dark-sky compliant in eliminating spilled light that obscures stars in the night sky.

The solar panel and battery pack also power the high-efficiency drip irrigation system for landscaping in front of the sign. The initial landscaping includes native trees — a crepe Myrtle and two live oaks. In the fall, Seery said city workers will spread seeds for native wildflowers in front of the sign. When they bloom, drivers should see a colorful swath of bluebonnets, daisies, yellow coreopsis, cone flowers and Indian paintbrushes.

The limestone panels used for the face of the sign, as well as the cut limestone blocks used in the base of the sign, are native limestone that was locally quarried. Use of native local stone greatly reduced the environmental impact of producing and shipping those materials.

Seery said another welcome sign on I-35 is planned near Texas 195 on the north side of the city. The construction timeline will depend on funding.

The signs are part of a comprehensive wayfinding sign program that includes entry monument signs and directional signs to help visitors find major points of interest.