Upper Trafalgar Street’s $860,0000 catenary lights project needed to be switched off after only seven days in operation because water leaked into faulty casings, Nelson Weekly has learned.
The lights on Upper Trafalgar St were installed in July and were switched on just in time for Te Ramaroa/Light Nelson, on Wednesday 14 July.
However, Nelson City Council group services manager Alec Louverdis says that, due to a fault in the casings, water was able to leak in around some of the LED lights during rainstorms prior to Te Ramaroa.
“This meant LEDs failed on six of the eighteen strings, the lights were turned off and replacements were ordered,” he says.
Upper Trafalgar St was made a permanent pedestrian area in 2019. The project aimed to be a people-focused, place-based project, which aimed to draw more people, events and activities into the city centre.
An initial budget of $600,000 for multi-function light poles was approved by council from a combination of $250,000 capital expenditure allocated via the annual plan 2019/20 and $350,000 from the CBD enhancement capital expenditure budget which was allocated to the city centre programme.
At a council meeting on 17 December 2020, councillors approved a further $261,000 in funding for the new lighting, bringing the project’s total lighting budget to $861,000.
The additional funding was required for further luminaries, civil works, additional design and supervision costs, and pole fabrication costs to meet electrical design.
In July 2021, the catenary lights were finally ready to install, with seven 9-metre-high poles being completed in early July.
A post on Shape Nelson on July 5 stated: “We will make sure that these are well tested before flicking the switch on Wednesday 14 July, at 5.30 pm.”
However, after just a week, the lights were forced to be switched off due to the fault.
Alec says the manufacturer and supplier are sending a new set of lights and installing them free of charge.
“The lights created a lovely atmosphere, and we hope to see them return by November.”
The lighting is a key feature of the street, and the design of the poles provides for a range of lighting options in the street. Catenary lights were the first to be installed.
