Roads brightly lit in Colombia
Join us for a brief tour of Colombia. After the Gran Manglar road bridge in Cartagena and the Alto Magdalena highway between Girardot and Honda, new roads in the capital Bogota have now been lit by solar solutions. To boost economic development across its regions, the South American country is extending its road infrastructure. Keen to protect the environment, lighting these roads using renewable energy is the logical way forward.
Eco-friendly road schemes in Colombia
Develop while protecting
Easing congestion on the national road network by building new high-speed links is a top priority for Colombia. These initiatives are helping boost trade and commerce by enabling people and goods to move faster. For example, the 5.4 kilometre (3.4 mi) Viaducto de la Paz or ‘Viaduct of Peace’ between the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla has shaved about 10 minutes off the journey time.
Colombia is also placing great emphasis on eco-responsibility. This new road infrastructure is being developed in a resolutely ecological approach in order to protect the environment. Renewable materials, latest construction techniques and green energies for public lighting are just some of the ways the impact of these developments is being minimized.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, Colombia committed to a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.
Bogota’s roads
In the TomTom Traffic Index, the Colombian capital Bogota ranks as the second most congested city in the world. To alleviate this problem, new roads have been built by local contractors Accenorte and others have been upgraded to meet standards.
For the public lighting part, 83 Fonroche off-grid solar streetlights have been installed, mainly on the entry and exit roads to the bypass.
Sustainable lighting with no economic impact
365 nights of light a year — guaranteed
Choosing solar public lighting to improve road safety and security means:
- No civil engineering work, cable laying or grid connection
- No expensive electricity bills
- No regular maintenance needed
Benefits include:
- Quick installation, so road projects can be delivered sooner
- Up to 25% savings compared with a grid-connected equivalent
- The same powerful spread of light as a conventional system
- 365 nights of lighting, with no outages
- Limited environmental impact
