Manilva Town Hall has announced the restoration of public lighting on the A-7 as it passes through San Luis de Sabinillas, an intervention aimed at ending a long-standing problem that has affected road safety and the image of the municipality along this road for years.
The works, which are already under way, are being carried out in both directions of traffic, from the start of the underpass to the Los Granados area.
According to the Town Hall, the agreement reached with the Demarcación de Carreteras (the state roads authority) will allow the state body to carry out the installation and replace the damaged light fittings, while the Town Hall will cover the cost of the electricity supply to ensure the system works.
A conflict that had dragged on for more than a decade
The restoration of the lighting closes a problem that began more than ten years ago, when numerous municipalities on the Costa del Sol, Manilva among them, called on the central government to take on the cost of lighting the A-7, as it is a state road.
In November 2011, the then governing team at Manilva Town Hall decided to cancel several electricity meters that supplied the lighting at the Sabinillas roundabout and the drainage pump in the underpass, arguing that the Town Hall could not continue to bear an expense that was not its responsibility. That situation left different stretches of the dual carriageway partly in darkness, causing concern for the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
Two years later, in 2013, the Town Hall again took on the lighting of the A-7 entrances and exits in Sabinillas on a provisional basis, while insisting that responsibility lay with the central government. The Town Hall argued at the time that leaving these roads without light posed a risk to the public and also damaged the municipality’s tourist image.
Improved safety and image for the municipality
With this new intervention, the Town Hall says a lasting solution is being provided to a long-standing demand from residents and drivers who use this stretch of the dual carriageway every day. The restoration of the lighting will improve night-time visibility, increase road safety and present a better image of the approaches to Sabinillas.
The Infrastructure department highlights that the agreement reached with the Demarcación de Carreteras represents an important step forward in cooperation between administrations to resolve a situation that had gone on for years without a definitive solution.
