WHAT IT WOULD COST TO GET THOSE 59 BRIDGE LIGHTS WORKING AGAIN 
Mike McGuff follows up with details on what might be holding up the undangling and rekindling of that fiber-optic lighting on the Dunlavy, Montrose, Hazard, Graustark, Mandell, and Woodhead St. bridges over 59: “The lights originally cost $275,000 when they were first installed. To get the old ones out and the new ones installed, you are looking at a price of $90,000 per bridge. With six bridges, that comes out to more than half a million dollars.” [39online; previously on Swamplot]
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Those bridges are always safer if they’re well lit. I hope the funding gets straightened out.
It would be nice to see the lights restored to the original way they were installed. What ever happened to the fiber optic lighting on the overpass at Beltway 8 and I-45?
Send someone over to Walgreens and you can cover the whole thing in holiday lights for a 100 bucks a bridge. Chevy Chase will install them for free.
I’m totally confused. What brain-trust designed a bridge that requires this level of maintenance? And who approved this design knowing that the governmental entity responsible for maintenance probably couldn’t afford to keep it maintained so that the design would keep its integrity? Was no one thinking?
Thank you!!! I’ve been wondering what was keeping these lights from being repaired. They are a nice aesthetic addition to the bridges. I do hope they’re able to get them repaired, and stay functional for more than a year. I too have wondered what happend to the lights on the Beltway and 45…Anyone know???
Don’t these things come with warranties.
I have always wondered when new construction goes on with designer bricks in the downtown sidewalks or other parts of the area, if the long term cons it figured in.
You can thank the architect that specified the lights. Rey De la Reza (RDLR) was the architect, and supposedly is a Harvard graduate? Did he not think the lights would ever burn out, or would require maintenance? It is a shame that Ray didn’t consider the price to maintain the life of the bulbs when he specified the lights. Lesson learned.
Heck – I think I am going to send Ms. Annise Parker a $10k campaign contribution so she can set me up with a 380 agreement for $1.6 Mil to do this work. Hire out the work for $500k and pocket the rest………….
srsly, how long and how much can it realistically cost to get someone up there on a cranelift and string some new light? If the orig contractor is saying $90k, then that’s probably half the problem why theyre not working right now.
There should be some accountability for making bad decisions with those bridges. The original design was flawed and it cost a ton of money to fix. Who were the bonehead designers anyhow?
” It is a shame that Ray didn’t consider the price to maintain the life of the bulbs when he specified the lights. ”
——
These are fiber optic cables; not lamps. You can’t just buy a new light bulb…
[not defending the specifications though]
Let’s just blow ’em off.
Same problem will rear its head w/in 5 yrs.
If the economy was strong, maybe.
BTW, that stretch of 59 looks nice, all-in-all, anyway. Like the greenery.
I looked everywhere for some info on the 45/BW8 fiber optics, and nothing found. I veguely remember hearing they were only supposed to be there for a year or two, but then again why bother installing them? Oh and gunspoint mall was supposed to be completely redeveloped, and as you can see that didn’t happen either. That used to be the nicest mall in town short of the Galleria, oh how the mighty have fallen into jewelry stores, tennis shoe stores, and fubu junk..
I thought the lights looked fantastic when they were working properly. Personally, I’d prefer that they money be spent to catch the graffiti taggers who are making that section of the Southwest Freeway look like a war zone.
Who approved this without looking at the long term costs of maintaining these lights or replacing them!!!??? I expect these to be replaced soon considering I own a home in the area and we pay significant taxes to support these things. It is the nicest stretch of freeway in Houston, why not maintain it? Why should the Galleria area be the only one maintained?