Tender awarded for CBD under-awning lights

Orange City Council awarded the tender to JLE Electrical to install footpath lighting mounted on poles on both sides of Summer Street, from Sale Street through to McNamara Street.

This work is due to start in May and continue, weather permitting, until December.

Work has already started along Anson Street to link the DPIE building.

Mayor Reg Kidd said the lighting would give a lift to the night-time economy of Summer Street.

"The former under-awning lighting is past its use-by date and having new LED lights shining onto the footpath is going to give a real boost to this key part of town," he said.

"In the first stage of the project, contractors will remove paving, and then excavate a 300 millimetre-wide trench, 800 millimetres from the kerb.

"Underground electrical conduits will then be installed before the trench is refilled and the paving replaced."

Council infrastructure committee chair and councillor Jeff Whitton said contractors would work at night, between 6pm and 6am.

"Starting at the Sale Street end, crews will work progressively along Summer Street in a series of temporary worksites," he said.

"Each section will take about a week to complete in each location."

Once the cabling is completed, the poles will be installed.

Letters have been distributed to businesses - access to shopfronts will not be affected, but there might be temporary loss of parking spaces.

The council injected $900,000 into the project, with $700,000 coming from the state government and $200,000 from the federal government.