Dear Patriarch of the Pavement: Whatever happened to the promised lights on the Broadway Bridge? -- Dark in Little Rock.
Dear Dark: As a patriarch (meaning "been around a while") we remember to promise her anything, but give her Arpege.
In the matter of the bridge and its lighting, we have asked around and can't find anyone in a position of authority or remembrance who believes that lighting the new and beautiful bridge was a promise. More like a wish.
We started our quest with Nathan Hamilton. He's of the city of North Little Rock.
Dude, isn't there some kind of agreement between the twin cities and the county of Pulaski to illuminate the bridge over and above the lights installed during construction?
No such agreement exists, Hamilton said. But call James Jones, an assistant city manager in Little Rock, who knows a lot.
So we did, and had an informative conversation, the bottom line of which was: There is no agreement. More from Jones later. Now to Barry Hyde, county judge of Pulaski County.
"I'm not aware of an agreement for lighting the Broadway Bridge," the honorable judge said in an email.
We also asked Entergy, which was involved in lighting of the Rock Island, Main Street and Junction bridges back in 2013. Nope, the utility is not party to any such agreement.
Anyone discern a trend?
Jones may know more about the lighting of bridges over the Arkansas River than anyone, probably because he was present at the creation of the project to light those other three bridges.
Jones said he was with Entergy in 2013 when the company decided to do something to commemorate its centennial. Lighting the three bridges cost $2.6 million, and Entergy ponied up $2 million. Little Rock, North Little Rock, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pulaski County and the Clinton Foundation made up the difference, he said. Philips Lighting of Somerset, N.J., did the design, and Koontz Electric of Morrilton did the installation.
There were discussions, he said, before the old Broadway Bridge was torn down in 2016 that it would be good to have lights on the new bridge. Philips Lighting has done some initial design work, Jones said, and pegs the cost at between $1.8 million and $2.6 million. But no one, or entity, he said, has yet to declare "I'm in."
There's a good possibility the lights could be installed, Jones said, because the mayors of the cities and the judge of the county would like to see that done.
"But with everyone's funding right now, they don't see it in their budgets.
"I think it's going to take someone stepping up and taking the lead and getting some seed money," Jones said. "There's talk of major fundraising, some type of public funding mechanism where people can contribute."
We love driving over that beautiful new bridge, which has the official name of Veterans Memorial Bridge, and hereby declare we're good for $100. It's the least a patriarch can do.
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 08/18/2018