The first phase of the renovation of the Levante Beach catenary has finished

The replacement of the Levante beach catenary has completed the first phase with the installation of light points, called 'archipoints' in the first sections closest to Avenida Europa. The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, verified today 'in situ' the progress of the works accompanied by several members of the government team.

These 'archipoints' have LED technology and are equipped with an RGB system that will allow different light compositions to be made with a mixture of colors and formations. In this sense, it is planned to carry out the first test lighting next week to test the operation of the new luminaire in sections.

The renovation of the catenary covers from Avenida Europa to Torrejó and the physical works will be finished throughout May. In total, there are 40 sections from Europe to Torrejó in which 40 luminaires, 80 projectors, and 1,400 'archipoints' are being installed.

This work has also entailed a new design of the columns, which includes an 11-meter, five-millimeter-thick dodecagonal pole and a three-meter-long upper lance cone, giving a total height of 14 meters. Each one has a crosshead for two projectors and another one to support the catenary garlands. The finish is a white-baked thermo-lacquer.

The overall intervention for the renovation of the lighting of the Paseo de Levante represents an investment of 1,972,119.41 euros that will be financed with municipal resources charged to the treasury remnants as it is a financially sustainable project, since the reduction of the energy power, once the intervention is finished, will be 33.65%.

"The works are developing at a very good pace, which will allow us to have a completely renovated catenary in this important section before the summer," said the mayor Toni Pérez, who has indicated that despite being a highly anticipated performance " The road has been full of difficulties because we demanded that the Ministry execute the work as it falls within their competence, but their refusal to do so led the City Council to carry it out on their own”.

“We could not tolerate that due to the negligence of the central administration, it was not understood that the catenary and the lighting of Levante is much more than a lighting; it is an icon that must advance and innovate and, therefore, had to be replaced after more than 30 years from its placement” added the mayor.

The Levante catenary dates from the 1990s and had elements in a significant state of deterioration that had reached the end of their useful life. "For this reason and the need to adapt the outdoor lighting infrastructures to the Energy Efficiency Regulation is why it was decided to undertake the comprehensive renovation of the catenary" Pérez indicated.

A good part of the columns showed corrosion and the structural capacity of these elements was even in question, according to the technical reports. Deterioration in the form of cracks and fissures in the anchoring of the columns and signs of oxidation in the steel cables had also been detected, which could affect their tensile capacity.