The underpass under the railway line in Millthorpe has long been a difficult piece of infrastructure for Blayney Shire Council.
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It's dark, sometimes it floods and the corner is so sharp that vehicles often have problems not encroaching onto the pedestrian walkway.
The first stage of shining some light onto the corner is now complete with two new LED solar lights being installed on either side of the track.
Costing around $5500 each the two lights have come at a considerable saving for council who are now considering the lights for other uses.
"Without having to connect them to the grid they can be installed anywhere and we've already had enquiries about using them in other villages across the shire," said councillor Bruce Reynolds.
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Prior to the solar lights being installed council's only option was to bore a cable underneath the road and pay to have two grid connected power poles installed and then connected to the grid, an option that was in the tens of thousands of dollars better spent elsewhere.
"Not only are we saving probably about $10,000 dollars we also don't have the ongoing running costs," Cr Reynolds said.
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The only drawback of the lights is the potential of them running out of charge in the depths of a Millthorpe winter.
"They have a three day charge in them so if it's overcast for four days, on the fourth night they won't work," he said.
In order to extend the battery life and reduce light pollution the lights will be dimmed at midnight.
With that as a consideration Cr Reynolds said that council would investigate their use across new estates to help reduce the cost of establishing new housing subdivisions.
"Being off the grid is certainly the way of the future," he said.
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