Let there be light in the Daspoort tunnel
The Daspoort tunnel lighting project has been completed.
Lights in the Daspoort tunnel in the west of Pretoria are now shining bright again.
The tunnel was closed for maintenance work for the last time, at the weekend.
“I am very happy that these lights have finally been replaced,” said ward councillor Frik van Wyk.
“Since I was elected councillor, replacing the lights in the tunnel has been one of my first priorities. The light in the tunnel was very bad ”
The 573m tunnel is used daily by pedestrians and motorists.
Due to the low light previously in the tunnel, visibility was poor and crime a problem.
Van Wyk explained that the tunnel has 85 lights in the roof with additional tube lights on the side.
The new LED lights gave off enough light that there was no need to replace the tube lights.
READ MORE: There will soon be lights at the end of the west tunnel
The project has been in the planning for a long time, but because the Tshwane metro did not have LED lights in stock, it slowed down the process.
Only a handful of lights, which were lent to the metro, were then replaced so that they could test whether the solution would make a difference.
The metro was then happy with the result and the replacement of the lights then kicked off on 8 September.
Van Wyk said he was happy with the end result.
“I hope these new lights will make a big difference to residents in the area,” he said.
He said there has good feedback from residents.
One such resident was Kleintjie Janse van Rensburg who said she was very pleased with the new lights.
“It looks so bright now when you drive through the tunnel,” she said.
“I’m very happy that the project was a success because I know how hard Frik worked to make this reality.”
Community activist Johan Cloete said the new lights looked “beautiful”.
“For me, the most important thing is that when you drive through the tunnel you can easily see what’s going on around you,” he said.
“It really makes a big difference.”
He thanked Van Wyk and everyone who made the project possible.
“Thank you to every electrician and official who made this project to be realised,” he said.
“We, as residents really appreciate it. There are no words to express our gratitude.”
The tunnel has a capacity of about 6 000 vehicles per day.
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