20-year-old Tunnel lights deemed “risk to public safety”

Monday 08 January 2018

A project to replace the lighting in the Tunnel, which is more than two decades old, will begin today because the current system is a “risk to public safety.”

The St Helier-based bypass will be closed nightly from 19:00 to 06:00 over the next 12 weeks while lighting replacement works take place, but will remain open on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Pedestrian access will be restricted while works are ongoing, and walkers will instead be diverted through Snow Hill car park.

Infrastructure officials say they decided to replace the system because the existing one had “reached the end of its life.” 

Pictured: DfI officials say that the current lighting system has a high likelihood of a "total system failure." (Google Maps)

“The likelihood of a total system failure is high and represents a risk to public safety,” a spokesperson for the Department explained.

They added that the new lighting will be in line with modern standards for both vehicles and pedestrians, and should last at least 20 years. It will also be adaptable, with officials able to moderate brightness levels according to ambient lighting outside. 

This year marks 50 years since construction began on the Tunnel.

It was created in a bid to ease congestion in St Helier by creating an alternative eastern access point to Town at a cost of £441,550 – more than £6million in today’s money. 

Pictured: Approaching the nearly half-century-old Tunnel from the Weighbridge area. (Google Maps)

The result was a tube linking Route du Fort with the Route de la Liberation, which was opened by the Bailiff in February 1970.

Infrastructure officials dubbed this latest development a “leap forward” that will “ensure the lights remain on in the Tunnel for decades to come.”