Lighting up the Rail Trail

The Rail Trail Illumination Project, which received $198,000 through the State Government’s Pick My Project community grant initiative, will soon get underway.

The Project will see 48 off-grid solar lights installed along the Bass Coast Rail Trail, including in the car park and community space behind Apex Park, between McKenzie Street and South Dudley Road. The design and fabrication work has been finalized and the contractor will start work on the installation of the lights from Monday, 14 October with work to be completed before Christmas.

Once installed, the off-grid solar lights will operate at full brightness from dusk for five hours and will then operate dimmed for another three hours. If movement is detected while the lights are dimmed, the built-in internal sensors will trigger the light to full brightness for 30 seconds.

Local residents, Karen Thorp and Max Richter submitted the application for the Illumination Project to the Pick My Project initiative.

“The State Government’s initiative opened up the opportunity for us to put this project out there and we are thrilled that it received enough support to be funded,” Karen said.

“The whole community is excited about it – they have had a say, and now it’s about to happen.”

Bass Coast Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari, said it was fantastic to see work starting on the project, which will benefit not just trail users, but the whole town.

“Once installed, these off-grid solar lights will improve visibility at night, increase overall access and convenience, give Trail users a sense of security and increase the opportunity for physical exercise,” Cr Tessari said.

Member for Bass, Jordan Crugnale said, “This is an Andrews Labor government initiative where individuals and groups with brilliant ideas have brought their projects to life, supported by their community, all to make their local area better in some way.”

“I want to thank Karen Thorp and everyone involved in this wonderful project where an old rail trail meets with new energy, giving everyone better visibility and activating a much-loved path through Wonthaggi.”

Work will be carried out between 7.00 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday (unless otherwise advised) and pedestrian and traffic control measures will be in place throughout the duration of the works.

The council appreciates the patience of the community while this work is underway and the contractor will make every effort to minimize disruptions to trail users and others impacted by the works.