Which lift should I use to repair a street lamp?

For individual columns, traffic signals, gantries and signs, an articulating or telescopic boom lift with 4×4 drive is most often used: it stands on the verge, lawn or pavement and its platform reaches over the carriageway. Self-propelled lifts are delivered by trailer and travel slowly, so for a long row of lamps along a road a truck-mounted lift, which drives between the columns itself, is usually more convenient.

Do I need a permit for work beside a road with a lift?

If the machine, the zone under the platform or the signage occupies the carriageway, verge, pavement or any other part of the road reserve, you need a road occupation permit from the road authority and an approved temporary traffic management plan. The permit is applied for by the contractor or the client, and the date must be planned in advance.

How do I choose the lift height for a lighting column?

Working height is the height of the platform floor plus about 2 m. What counts is the height of the luminaire from the level on which the machine will stand and, when the lift stands beside the column or behind a ditch, also the horizontal outreach needed to bring the platform to the luminaire. In our fleet the articulating boom lifts 4×4 have a working height of about 12.5 to 43 m, and the telescopic ones about 14 to 57 m with a horizontal outreach of up to about 24 m.

Can you work from a lift with the lighting switched on or beneath an overhead line?

Work on luminaires and installations is carried out after the circuit has been switched off by the lighting manager, and people doing electrical work must hold the appropriate qualification certificate. Near overhead lines the platform and boom must stay outside the danger zone, the size of which depends on the voltage of the line; before the work it is agreed with the network operator.

Who may operate a lift for road works?

The operator of a mobile elevating work platform must hold a qualification certificate from the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT). Crews without their own operator can rent a lift with an operator.

Knowledge base

Lift for roadworks and street lighting

Lamp posts, traffic signals, signs and gantries over the carriageway: when an articulating boom lift, when a telescopic 4×4 and when a truck-mounted one. How to work out height and outreach from the verge, what road occupation permit is needed and how to work near power lines.

Updated: 9 October 2026 · Published: 26 September 2026 · Author: RK Rental team

For repairs to street lamps, traffic signals, signs over the carriageway and gantries, an articulating or telescopic boom lift with 4×4 drive is used (a cherry picker, aerial work platform, MEWP): the machine stands on the verge, lawn or pavement while the platform reaches over the carriageway. The choice is decided by the height of the luminaire, the distance the platform has to extend sideways, and the ground. If the machine or the work zone occupies the road reserve, you need a permit from the road authority and a temporary traffic management plan.

Articulating, telescopic or truck-mounted?

Articulating boom lift 4×4 — when the platform has to be placed over an obstacle: a barrier, hedge, bus shelter or trees. In our fleet from about 12.5 to 43 m working height.
Telescopic boom lift 4×4 — when the machine has to stand far from the working point, for example behind a ditch or off the carriageway, and the platform has to reach a gantry above several lanes. In our fleet from about 14 to 57 m height and a horizontal outreach of up to about 24 m.
Truck-mounted lift — for long rows of lamps along a road. Self-propelled articulating and telescopic boom lifts travel slowly and are delivered by trailer, so they suit spot work and jobs of several days in one place, not a round of dozens of columns.

How do you calculate height and outreach?

Working height is the height of the platform floor plus about 2 m. You measure the height of the luminaire or element from the level on which the machine will stand: a verge is often lower than the carriageway. When the lift cannot stand right beside the column, horizontal outreach also counts: the distance from the slew axis of the machine to the working point. Both values are checked on the reach chart of the specific model; how to read it is explained in the article how to read the load and reach chart.

Formalities: the road reserve and traffic management

Occupying a carriageway, verge, pavement or cycle path, even by the signage and the zone under the platform alone, requires a permit from the road authority to occupy the road reserve. An approved temporary traffic management plan is attached to the application. The contractor or the client deals with the formalities; when planning the rental date, allow time to obtain them.

Safety beside the road and beside overhead lines

the work zone is fenced off and marked in line with the traffic management plan, including the space over which the boom swings,
the ground is checked before driving in: a verge, ditch, manholes and embankments may not carry the load of the wheels,
work on luminaires is carried out after the circuit has been switched off by the lighting manager, by people with the appropriate qualification certificate,
near overhead lines the platform and boom are kept outside the danger zone, which depends on the voltage; it is agreed with the network operator,
wind limits work at height: the limit from the machine’s rating plate applies.

The operator must hold a UDT licence; crews without an operator rent the machine with an operator. We have collected the rules of working in the platform in the article safe work at height.

Frequently asked questions

Which lift should I use to repair a street lamp?: For individual columns, traffic signals, gantries and signs, an articulating or telescopic boom lift with 4×4 drive is most often used: it stands on the verge, lawn or pavement and its platform reaches over the carriageway. Self-propelled lifts are delivered by trailer and travel slowly, so for a long row of lamps along a road a truck-mounted lift, which drives between the columns itself, is usually more convenient.
Do I need a permit for work beside a road with a lift?: If the machine, the zone under the platform or the signage occupies the carriageway, verge, pavement or any other part of the road reserve, you need a road occupation permit from the road authority and an approved temporary traffic management plan. The permit is applied for by the contractor or the client, and the date must be planned in advance.
How do I choose the lift height for a lighting column?: Working height is the height of the platform floor plus about 2 m. What counts is the height of the luminaire from the level on which the machine will stand and, when the lift stands beside the column or behind a ditch, also the horizontal outreach needed to bring the platform to the luminaire. In our fleet the articulating boom lifts 4×4 have a working height of about 12.5 to 43 m, and the telescopic ones about 14 to 57 m with a horizontal outreach of up to about 24 m.
Can you work from a lift with the lighting switched on or beneath an overhead line?: Work on luminaires and installations is carried out after the circuit has been switched off by the lighting manager, and people doing electrical work must hold the appropriate qualification certificate. Near overhead lines the platform and boom must stay outside the danger zone, the size of which depends on the voltage of the line; before the work it is agreed with the network operator.
Who may operate a lift for road works?: The operator of a mobile elevating work platform must hold a qualification certificate from the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT). Crews without their own operator can rent a lift with an operator.