Thousands of automobiles pass through the Port of Vancouver ship-to-shore vehicle transfer facility in the state of Washington, which is part of the Columbia Gateway. The 90-acre paved lot is divided into two units: 50 acres for the port and 40 acres for the port tenant, Subaru of America.

Besides the paved area, the facility includes a 240' x 100' floating dock and a 250' ramp that extends to shore. Automobiles off-loaded from ships are driven to the parking lot, then transferred to a 30,000-square-foot warehouse-style vehicle processing building.

With vehicles coming into and leaving from the facility at all hours of the day and night, all areas of the port must have high levels of visibility. The 90-acre paved lot is illuminated with Holophane HMSC and HMST cut-off style high mast systems mounted on 100-foot poles. Each unit includes an LD5 lowering device, with from three to ten 1,000-watt high pressure sodium luminaires mounted per pole, depending upon the level of activity in the immediate area.

"This was a very large section to light," explained Rob Connell, P.E., associate, MFIA Inc., Consulting Engineers, Portland, Oregon. "We wanted to provide the light levels needed, yet use as few poles as possible and place them in areas where they would not interfere with the traffic, including rail and truck traffic."
He noted that Holophane's Computer Aided Lighting Analysis (CALA) software was used to determine fixture placement and illumination levels. Spacing for the high mast poles in the paved lot is 400 feet, with illumination levels ranging from three to five footcandles, depending upon the number of fixtures per pole. In high traffic areas, illumination levels measure five footcandles.

Both the dock and ramp are lighted with three HMST high mast systems. Two to three 1,000-watt HPS fixtures are used per pole, with illumination levels at five footcandles.

"The steel floating dock was rather unusual as far as the lighting was concerned," said Connell. "First, two-foot pipe was welded to the dock deck, then a flat steel plate with bolt holes was fitted on top of the pipe. The base of the high mast pole was fastened on top of the plate."

Illumination levels on the dock and ramp are five footcandles. Holophane Prismalume units with 400 watt HPS lamps are utilized on the interior of the vehicle processing facility. The units are mounted at 20' on the open metal deck ceiling, spaced 25 feet. Illumination levels are 50 footcandles maintained. On the structure's exterior, 175-watt Wallpack luminaires from Holophane are mounted on the walls.

"We have an excellent history with Holophane fixtures and have used them in a variety of settings, from large, open structures to smaller parking lots. The prismatic glass units provide efficient use and direction of light, and because of their heavy gauge metals and thick glass, they are also very durable," Connell said.

Holophane's Integrated Communication System (ICS), a powerline carrier energy management system, controls the high mast units, with one system installed for the port space and another for the Subaru area. Each system includes two contactors on every pole. One contactor controls two fixtures per pole for overnight security lighting, while the other contactor controls the remaining fixtures. This contactor, in turn, is controlled by a manual switch. The ICS system includes a modem for remote telephone operation.