The latter street lamp was mounted on a long metal arm that positioned the light source right over the middle of the intersection. A winch at eye-level on the pole allowed the fixture to be lowered to ground level for periodic maintenance. In some instances a strong span wire across the roadway was also utilized for the same "pulley-winch" system. As arc street lights were gradually replaced by more efficient incandescent (filament) fixtures in the teens, it was common practice to keep the new fixture on the same arm or suspension cable. In later years (c.1930s and later) ladder trucks were used for over-the-road fixture servicing, especially in locations whereby the crank-winch system was no longer operable or reliable.

The late Stan Magner, a long-time lineman and troubleman for the Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant (MA) told me that doing nighttime repairs and lightbulb replacements for the numerous span-wire radial wave street lights the town had around town was sometimes "a bit shaky" upon the department's ladder truck in the 50s and 60s. Especially with the windy conditions that often persisted off the town's oceanside Atlantic coast.