- Bridge Lights - News Update - Legacy
Last updated: January, 2007

 

Legacy Project

  • What is the Legacy Project?


    Then- Portland Mayor Vera Katz initiated a citizen’s group to recommend a project to mark both the new millennium and the city’s 150th birthday in 2001. From many suggestions the committee chose a proposal presented by the Willamette Light Brigade (WLB): Add architectural lighting to several downtown Portland bridges over the Willamette River. The committee believed that lighting the structures that connect the city’s east and west sides would be a unifying symbol that all could enjoy.

     The Willamette Light Brigade, a local non-profit, is working with city and county leaders to raise private funds to design and install lights that will show the unique features of five consecutive downtown bridges (from the Hawthorne to the Broadway). One of those bridges is owned by Union Pacific Railroad, the other four are owned and maintained by Multnomah County. County Chair Diane Linn co-chaired the project with Mayor Katz.

Legacy Bridges: Broadway I Steel I Burnside I Morrison I Hawthorne

 

  • Who is doing the designs and the funding?

      WLB is responsible for underwriting and choosing the designs, applying for any necessary permits, and having the installations done.

Before the Legacy Project was chosen, WLB funded the design for the Hawthorne with private donations and the Steel with a grant from Osram/Sylvania. Once the Legacy Project’s broader scope was adopted, WLB, with help from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), chose and commissioned two local artists to develop lighting schemes for the Burnside and Broadway. Lighting designers and technicians from various firms served (pro bono) as WLB’s technical design committee.

      Mayor Katz and Chair Linn agreed to solicit private donations to fund the Legacy Project. Funds are needed for engineering the construction drawings, for purchasing hardware and installation as well as for on-going energy and maintenance costs.

 

  • Legacy Project Updates
    - Funding / Phase 1

      In 2000 Mayor Katz announced that two energy companies which serve the greater Portland area had offered to help with two bridges. Legacy Committee Chair, Fred Miller, donated $60,000 from PGE to be placed in a trust fund for installing the Hawthorne lights and the Regional Community Manager for PacifiCorp pledged a significant amount of the funds necessary for the Burnside Bridge lighting project.

      The single stipulation of each energy company donation is that “their” bridge be done as part of a “multi-bridge” lighting project. WLB had already received an anonymous donation of $7,000 to upgrade the lights and color filters on the Morrison Bridge. All agreed to do these three bridge’s lighting systems as Phase 1 of the Legacy Project.

- Energy Crisis Response

     As the millennium turned, WLB was on track to add lights to bridges on either side of the Morrison Bridge which has been architecturally lighted for more than a decade. Lights to illuminate the moving features of the Hawthorne Bridge were to be in place in time for Portland's 2001 Rose Festival. There was hope of beginning the application process for the Burnside design the following year. Then the energy crisis intervened. Not only did WLB agree to postpone adding new lights, WLB agreed with the County’s decision to switch off the colorful lights on the Morrison Bridge piers during the energy crisis. The electric companies that had agreed to fund installations on Hawthorne and Burnside re-confirmed but “paused” their commitments “till the regional energy supply situation was resolved”.

      During this time WLB kept busy double-checking the proposed designs for maximum energy efficiency--a design goal from the outset—and responding to a request from Multnomah County, the owner/operator of the downtown bridges. In February 2002 WLB commissioned a study of the feasibility of generating alternative (sustainable) energy to light the Hawthorne, Morrison and Burnside bridges. If economically viable, WLB would work to install such power-generation equipment rather than use energy from the region’s electrical grid for bridge lights.

      The study consultants, Glumac International, were advised by energy experts, WLB representatives and other stakeholders. They focused on the potential of installing photovoltaic (pv) arrays on a county building which already had an adaptable support framework on its roof. Study results showed that it is possible to design a pv system adequate for the bridges and to make net-metering arrangements, but the pay-back period is too long (100+ years) to be financially viable at this time.

     The advisory committee next examined the potential of local wind generation. Sustainability staff from the City of Portland provided available wind data, turbine system costs, and efficiency calculations they had calculated for an area with existing meters near the Portland airport. Unfortunately, that estimated pay-back period is also too lengthy--at today's costs--for bridge-lighting consideration.

     WLB decided to renew its request of Multnomah County, the City of Portland and the bridge sponsors to approve powering lights with renewable energy (see NEWS). By purchasing “green” power, as originally planned, the bridge lights will support local utilities’ efforts to develop more alternative energy sources. The bridges will also provide a highly-visible demonstration project for civic use of “green” power, a valuable public education element of the project.

      The bridge lights will show the region’s commitment to preserving the environment and delight all who see Portland at night.


©2000-2007 . All rights reserved