- Melbourne's EastLink tunnels have undergone a lighting upgrade
- The project saw 1,066 HPS lights replaced by 1,174 new LED lights
- The lights are hoped to make motorists in the tunnel safer
Over four nights this month, Melbourne’s EastLink tunnels saw significant lighting upgrades making them the first major tunnel in Victoria to be lit by LED lights.
The new LED lights are brighter than the old orange High Pressure Sodium (HPS) ones.
The efforts of up to 60 technicians and 22 scissor lifts working through the night saw 1,066 HPS lights replaced with 1,174 LED lights.
EastLink is the 39 kilometre tollway in Melbourne’s east. It connects the Eastern, Monash, Frankston and Peninsula Link freeways.
“The upgraded lighting will improve safety for motorists, by making the driving task easier.”
Doug Spencer-Roy, EastLink corporate affairs manager
EastLink control room operators are already benefiting from higher quality CCTV images.
The incident response and emergency service personnel of the EastLink tunnel will also benefit as the brighter, whiter lighting provided by the LED lights will make the management of incident sites easier.
Doug Spencer-Roy explained, “If a motorist is injured in a vehicle collision, attending paramedics will find that the new brighter, whiter lighting will assist with their treatment of the injured person.”
“Should there be a vehicle fire, Fire Rescue Victoria will have a brighter environment in which to operate their equipment.”
There are also environmental benefits to the lighting investment.
“We estimate that the new LED lighting system will consume 26% less power than the old HPS system, which will reduce green house gas emissions by around 469 tonnes each year”
EastLink considers itself a leader in transport sustainability. The company has announced that the old HPS lights will be recycled by an accredited specialist recycler.
