Houston Celebrates Relighting of Montrose Bridges in Time for Super Bowl LI

Houston, Texas (January 31, 2017) – Montrose Management District (MMD) is pleased to announce that the seven arched bridges spanning US 59 – connecting Montrose with the rest of Houston – are once again shining brightly. The new, low-energy LED lighting system outlines the arches of the bridges and illuminates the streets, replacing the popular but non-repairable lighting that was turned off almost 10 years ago.

“The lights on the Montrose bridges were such a special feature and landmark of our neighborhood and we have worked hard to bring them back,” said Claude Wynn, MMD Chairman of the Board. “Our team, along with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the Houston Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), State Representative Garnet Coleman and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office, is especially excited to turn on the lights for the big game, creating a unique and beautiful display that shows off an important asset of our incredible city and gives all Houstonians something to be proud of.”

“Funding for the project was secured by the Montrose Management District, that successfully applied for $1.4 million in Transportation Enhancement Grant from TxDOT.  The District also financed the costs for the architectural plans, a myriad of other ancillary costs, and match funding required by grant recipients. Both TxDOT and H-GAC also contributed more than $700,000 each to the project. Total investment was slightly more than $3.7 M and involved replacing bridge and street lighting for Woodhead, Mandell, Dunlavy, Hazard, Graustark and Montrose (2 bridges)”, said Bill Calderon, Special Projects Manager.

Key facts about the bridge lights:

• The lights include 2800+ LED strands on the inside and outside of the archways and 308 LED spotlights pointing up at the bridge canopies. Each platform also has four LED lamps at street level to illuminate the sidewalks.
• The bridge lighting plans were prepared by Gandy Squared Lighting Design, a Houston-based lighting expert, which plans were approved by the Montrose Management District Board of Directors and TxDOT, and were custom manufactured for this project in Taiwan and California by Traxon, a division of Osram-Sylvania.
• The lights are computer-controlled via secure Internet connection and offer a wide range of colors and effects; the colors can be changed to reflect special events throughout the year, e.g., the Super Bowl, Fourth of July and St. Patrick’s Day.   
• Careful attention was paid to driver safety and steps taken to ensure that glare from the lights did not pose a driving hazard.
• The project also improves lighting on the bridge platform itself to increase pedestrian safety.
• The LED technology allows for easy maintenance and the lights are expected to last for 20 years.     
• The lights were installed on a rapid turnaround by Third Coast Services, LLC.     

Demonstration of the system’s robust capacity will be viewable on Thursday evening, February 2nd beginning at 8:00 PM.  Officials from the District will be present on the Dunlavy Bridge shortly before 8:00 PM February 2nd to showcase the lighting system. 

Additional facts and history of the bridge can be found at… www.montrosedistrict.org/bridgelights

About the Montrose Management District: Improving the quality of life in the historic Montrose area is one of several focuses of the District. The Board of Directors follows a service, improvement, and assessment plan to meet the needs of the District. The plan focuses on four core areas including: business and economic development, transportation planning, public safety, and visual and cultural improvements.

For more information on the Montrose District, visit: www.MontroseDistrict.org.

Montrose Bridges Lights from ev1pro.com on Vimeo.

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