The placement of benches and control panels for the new lampposts on Paseo de Levante between Valencia Street and Torrejó street has been completed

The renovation of the street lamps and the catenary of Paseo de Levante is going through stages with the aim that this iconic element of the image of Benidorm is completely renovated before the high season in the city in the section from Torrejó to Europa avenue.

As of today, the installation of the new concrete benches that are located on the promenade and that incorporate the control panels and electrical connections for the lampposts has been completed. A total of ten benches have been placed from Valencia to Torrejó street and as many lampposts have. These benches have an anti-humidity treatment and a polished surface to prevent marine erosion. The chests that house the lamppost controls are made of stainless steel to extend their life and prevent rust. In the same way, ten provisional lampposts have already been installed, and placed in the sand of the beach with a completely new foundation.

The mayor of Benidorm has visited today the development of the works, along with the councilor for Public Space, José Ramón González de Zárate, and that of Beaches, Mónica Gómez. An action that is part of the complete renovation of the catenary and lights on the Paseo de Levante, which will affect 40 columns and which will renew another 40 lights that focus on the promenade, 80 projectors that do so on the beach, and 1,566 lights that run between the columns.

Remember that the overall intervention involves an investment of 1,972,119.41 euros that will be financed with municipal resources charged to the remaining treasury because it is a financially sustainable project, since the reduction of energy power, once completed the intervention will be 33.65%. Forecasts suggest that before Easter the renovation will be completed and the new catenary operational.

The mayor Toni Pérez has checked the final state of the new banks 'in situ' and has highlighted that "the fact of containing the luminaire connection boxes inside allows their useful life to be significantly extended since it avoids the entry of sand and humidity”. In this sense, Pérez recalled that until now the electrical connection boxes were located in niches at the level of the sand, below the promenade, "with a very great propensity for breakdowns due to the entry of sand and seawater in episodes of temporary”.

The mayor has also highlighted "the significant reduction in consumption that this action entails since the installed power once completed will be more than 33% lower than the current one, only in this first phase of renovation".

At this point, the mayor has emphasized that it is "a long-awaited work that has had a transition with many difficulties because first, we demanded that the Ministry execute it as it is within their competence." The refusal of the central administration to act motivated the City Council to decide to undertake it on its own, "but even so, the road to obtaining authorization has also been very torturous."

“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 move forward and innovate and, therefore, must be replaced after more than 30 years since it was placed”, stated the mayor.

The Levante catenary dates from the 1990s and has elements in a significant state of deterioration that have 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 we have decided to undertake the comprehensive renovation of the catenary" Pérez indicated.

Many of the columns show widespread corrosion and the structural capacity of these elements was even in question. 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.

The project recalled the mayor, contemplates the replacement of the current columns with others of an exclusive design for Benidorm that incorporates a high protection system for marine environments. "There is an important previous industrial development work behind it since it deals with non-standardized elements and is made exclusively for Benidorm" Pérez has detailed.

As already explained at the beginning of the action, one of the novelties that will be implemented in the new catenary is the possibility of creating lighting compositions of all kinds, ranging from colored lighting, dynamic compositions, transitions, or various sets through a system that It will allow you to monitor, program and control lighting.