New Field Lights Going Up at Rock Spring Park

After months of presentations to the and receiving , the Long Valley Raiders Football Association was given approval in 2011 to install two new, permanent light poles on the football field at .

Because of the approval process taking so long, the association needed to continue with its temporary lights for the 2011 season, and planned to install the new poles prior to the 2012 schedule.

This week, Precision Drilling has been at the site digging holes for the new light fixtures, going 14-feet into the ground.

But there's a reason the park has the word 'Rock' in its title.

The work is taking slightly longer than expected, according to one of the workers, Shawn Billitz, because of rock getting in the way.

“We’ve been in rock the whole time,” Billitz said. “Usually to go this deep, if it’s just soil, we’re in and out in 20 minutes.”

The company has needed to use a special rock-busting drill to complete the holes, Billitz said, and can only drill through one at a time since they only have one machine.

Precision Drilling arrived at the site on Tuesday and as of noon Thursday were still creating the holes along the south sideline of the football field.

Once completed, the light poles will be 80 feet tall. The shades on the lighting fixtures themselves will be titled so residents on East Springtown Road can’t see the bulbs directly, limiting scatter light into their homes.

The football association has fully funded the installation of the lights, and will be responsible for equipment management going forward.