WLB - BRIDGE LIGHTS - Permitting Process

-Permitting Process

BRIDGE LIGHTS -Permitting Process

      Formal application to install lights can be made to the bridge owner once conceptual designs are specified by electrical plans (schedules and diagrams, wiring diagrams and elevations). That approval, however, also requires consent or actions to satisfy other local, state & federal jurisdictions. For what is referred to as the Legacy Project--a set of 5 consecutive, central-city bridges, 4 of which are owned by Multnomah County--WLB commissioned design concepts for four bridges and installation adjustments for another.

     Multnomah County's Permitting will verify that ownership and liability issues are not compromised. It will defer to the County's Bridge Shop to see that the structural integrity of each bridge is maintained. That involves such considerations as amount of stress caused by fixtures’ weight and wind load factors, and having fixtures attached with clamps rather than boring into the structures. If WLB acts as contractor it must apply to the City of Portland's Office of Permitting and Design Review. Part of OPDR's review of land use and construction issues would, then, include notifying neighboring resident and business associations of the lighting plans.

     Note: Even though WLB did not act as the contractor for the Hawthorne installation, WLB met with those groups whose borders touch the Hawthorne Bridge. Each group saw the proposed lighting plan and WLB answered their questions and concerns--efficient energy use and minimum light pollution were consistent priorities. Each group indicated support for the design. This communication step will be done with adjacent groups for each bridge.

    County and City approval checklists include review by other pertinent jurisdictions, such as US and State Fish & Wildlife offices and the National Marine Fisheries Service. For them WLB will attest that the lights will have no negative effect on protected birds or fish (e.g. that light won’t impede Peregrine falcon nesting habits or interfere with migration or predation of endangered salmon and trout).

    Reducing light pollution is the aim of International Dark Sky Assoc. Although that group’s approval is not formally required, Jim Benya, who heads WLB’s technical committee, is a recognized expert in this field and serves on the board of IDSA. He will verify with that group that all the WLB design projects meet their standards.

    Water, roadway and air traffic safety—visibility for pilots and driuvers as they cross under, on and above the bridges—must also be confirmed by the US Coast Guard and the City of Portland Traffic Division.

    The State Historic Preservation Office will review the plans, informally or formally depending on the cultural import of each bridge.

PERMITTING STATUS for LEGACY BRIDGES

     WLB is at various stages of informal and formal application for the 5 bridges’ designs.

Hawthorne: Permit Approved; Work Completed

Electrical plans were drawn by IDC and formal application, including those plans, was made by WLB to the bridge owner, Multnomah County.

Representatives of WLB and the County's Bridge Section met to determine all the policy and technical issues involved when an outside group proposes changes to a county bridge. WLB and the County reached accord on specifics for hiring the County’s Bridge Shop to install and operate the Hawthorne design.

The County completed the installation in August, 2004 and, as provided in the WLB/County Agreement, now owns the architectural lighting system.

Also as agreed, WLB provided funds to the County to cover costs of operating (energy) and maintaining (supplies and labor) the system. (see NEWS)

Morrison: Formal Permit Not Required; Lights-On Scheduled for 2/14/07

Formal permit application was not required because this is an upgrade of the system installed in the late 1980s.


Energy use, maintenance costs and risks are all greatly reduced with the switch to light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures (see NEWS).


Ed Slavin of Northern Illumination Co. provided pro bono expertise to determine and procure upgrade hardware and to coordinate changes with County’s Bridge Shop.


Multnomah County Bridge Shop designed and fabricated the new fixture brackets (see NEWS).


Representatives of WLB and County's Public Affairs office did outreach to the various related groups—County Board of Commissioners, neighborhood and business groups abutting the bridge, river users and local offices of river-related government jurisdictions—before installation began.


Private funds donated to WLB were used to cover the costs of the system upgrade and operation.

Burnside: Jim Benya, of Benya Lighting Design, has turned artist Bill Will's lighting concept for the Burnside Bridge into an actual lighting design--e.g., what types of light fixtures, how many, where they should be hung. Mazzetti & Associates, Consultants & Engineers, has translated Benya’s lighting design into electrical drawings, specifying power needs, every piece of hardware, conduit, etc., and exactly where and how all must be installed. Once final adjustments are made to the bracket design, WLB will attach those plans to a formal permit application to submit for County review (hopefully by spring ’07)..

Broadway: Electrical drawings won't be done for the Broadway's design until the County's major overhaul, which includes roadway lighting changes, is completed. WLB can then evaluate the effects of those changes on WLB's conceptual design for architectural lights.

Steel: Initiating the application process is different for this bridge because it is owned by the Union Pacific Railway, and UPRR is not accustomed to requests by outsiders to alter its structure. Shortly after the conceptual designs were completed WLB contacted railway personnel to get an idea of how to apply for installation. It appears the process will channel through many UPRR staff as well as the usual jurisdictional offices. Once the Phase I projects (Hawthorne, Morrison & Burnside) are completed, WLB will have electrical plans drawn for the Steel and begin necessary governmental reviews and formal application to UPRR for installation.