Conversion of approximately 53,500 city-owned street lights to light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures begins Monday, city officials announced today.

The total cost of the two-year project is $46.6 million, which includes construction, financing and the warranty and network services over a 10-year period.

Work on the project begins on the North Shore, the Leeward and Windward areas, and then to Central Oahu, Pearl City and downtown Honolulu.

Contractor Johnson Controls is expected to finish the project by December 2019.

City official say the lights are more energy efficient and will pay for themselves within a decade.

The LED lamps have drawn the ire of the Sierra Club Oahu Chapter and University of Hawaii scientists who argue that the lights have too much blue light, making them too bright.