In the February issue, we ran a series of articles about lighting for bridges. Since then, we have learned that there are many more such endeavors in the works, many of them to be lit by The Mintz Lighting Group, whose recent project, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, was seen on the cover of the February issue. Bridges are something of a specialty for The Mintz Lighting Group and the company has a number of other such projects. They include the following:
The Maumee River Crossing, in Toledo, OH (rendering, below), is currently under construction and will open for traffic in 2006. The lighting incorporates a glass theme, which alludes to Toledo's history as the glass capital of the world. To realize this concept, LED floodlights will illuminate a glass-enclosed pylon; the units will be fully programmable to create an infinite number of color and movement combinations. Figg Engineers is the bridge's engineer.
The Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge, linking Omaha, NE, and Council Bluffs, IA, is in the preliminary design stage, with an opening scheduled for 2005. The cable-stayed design incorporates an S-shaped deck and two asymmetrical pylons. Figg Engineers is again involved.
The U.S. Grant Bridge, another cable-stayed structure, will link Portsmouth, OH, and South Shore, KY; it is scheduled to open in 2004. The lighting design features uplights mounted at the base of each cable to accentuate the basket-weave pattern of cables as they converge at the top of each pylon. The bridge engineer is HNTB.
The Mintz Lighting Group has other bridges planned as well: The Siebenthaler Avenue Bridge in Dayton, OH, opening later this year (DLZ is the engineer), and two new projects, the Indian River Inlet Bridge and the Tyler McConnell Bridge, both located in Delaware. Opening in 2004 is the first phase of the Brandon Parkway in Tampa, FL; it features a bridge that will connect Tampa to the suburbs by an elevated roadway. Figg Engineers is involved in the latter three projects.
The Victory Bridge, over the Raritan River in Perth Amboy, NJ, is a close-to-home project for the Newark-based Mintz Lighting Group. A 2005 opening is planned. The Four Bears Bridge in New Town, ND, is currently in final design for a 2005 opening. The bridge crosses Lake Sakakawea on the northwest corner of the Fort Berthold Reservation and is designed to be sensitive to the local Native American culture.
The Susquehanna River Bridge is part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, crossing the river just south of Harrisburg. It is currently under construction for a 2006 opening. Finally, there's the Mississippi River Bridge, in St. Louis, MO, a cable-stayed structure currently in preliminary design stages; it is not scheduled to open until 2011. The engineer is Modjeski and Masters. Clearly, bridges are providing architectural LDs with exciting new canvases.