Lighting Design Considerations for Bridges, Walkways, and Infrastructure Projects
Some of the most notable landmarks around the world are bridges. Consider the Charles Bridge in Prague, the Tower Bridge in London, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, or the iconic Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco Harbor. Bridges around the world are important not only for their function but also for their form.
Your local automotive or pedestrian bridges may not be globally recognized, but they still reflect your city’s local character and style. Whether old and historic or sleek and modern, a bridge can be a striking architectural landmark, and the application of light can highlight the beautiful design components of the structure. Bridge lighting should not be considered only an extension of the lighting on each side of the bridge.
Highlight the architecture of a bridge with accent, grazing, and color light applications
Professionally illuminated, a bridge can become a nighttime focal point of a city or neighborhood. The application of light serves a safety function for vehicles or pedestrians and can highlight the bridge’s architecture. Accent lighting on cables or girders or the application of color can bring a bridge to life and make it a memorable location. Grazing light features surface structures by creating shadows. Grazing light is often preferred when the materials used in the bridge construction are stone or have variable textures.
Infrastructure investment opportunities for bridges and pedestrian walkways
Recent federal legislation to invest in America’s infrastructure includes over $300 billion for roads and bridges. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides investment dollars for repairing and rebuilding America’s roads and bridges – the most significant since President Eisenhower’s investment in the interstate highway system.
Cities around the United States also invest in “capping” opportunities designed to connect downtown neighborhoods by building caps over roadways. These caps effectively create a tunnel and a bridge – with park-like settings constructed on the top of the “bridge” that may include green spaces, play areas, and water features.
According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), more than 20 of these capping projects received federal funding from fiscal years 2012 through 2021. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) indicates that these capping projects with a transportation nexus may be eligible to use federal-aid highway formula grants. These projects may also be eligible for certain Department of Transportation (DOT) discretionary grants.
The vision for a capping project was unveiled in Atlanta, Georgia, in early 2021. The plan is for a picturesque, grandiose greenspace larger than Centennial Olympic Park built over the Downtown Connector. The idea is to develop an extensive park elevated above the highway that cuts through midtown Atlanta near the Georgia Tech University campus. The structure would offer playgrounds, walking paths, cafes, and an amphitheater. Federal dollars have already been secured for the plan.
Repaired or newly built bridges and highway capping projects are great opportunities for applying professionally designed and installed lighting to create memorable destinations.
Lighting considerations for bridges and pedestrian walkways
Glare from bridge or tunnel lighting can be dangerous
Glare is difficulty seeing in the presence of a bright light. The human eye typically takes 3-5 seconds to recover from glare –a long time when driving a vehicle. Poorly planned and installed bridges, pathways, or tunnel lights can be dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Whether general illumination of the traveled surface or architectural lighting elements, light should not be directed along the horizontal plane or reflected from a surface into the horizontal plane.
Environmental and sustainability considerations for bridge lighting
Sustainable lighting products are essential for the environment, and the energy efficiency benefits of LED technology are well known. Still, the Boca Lighting and Controls team takes the sustainability commitment further. The Boca team is aligned with industry standards and best practices championed by the EPA & Green Power Partnership. Boca is one of the few companies whose combination of advanced products and responsible practices are positioned at the forefront of the Greening of America.
Boca also takes a “cradle-to-cradle” approach to produce products designed with the end of their useful life in mind, ensuring that the materials can be easily recycled or repurposed. By doing this, materials are kept out of landfills, and there is a reduced need for new resources to be extracted.
Light trespass or spill is also a consideration when designing a bridge lighting plan. The sky above and the natural areas under bridges should be free of unnatural light to prevent harming the ecosystem.
Vehicle and pedestrian traffic present demands on light fixtures and components
Vehicle and pedestrian bridges are exposed to weather, vibration, and abuse. This environment requires lighting fixtures and installation materials to withstand the day-to-day punishment. Lighting systems installed on bridges should meet the following standards
- IP66 Ingress Protection against water infiltration
- 3G Vibration Rating to prevent the degradation of the fixture over time due to vibration
- IK08 or IK10 Rating to ensure prevention of fixture damage when struck by outside forces
- MIL-STD 810G temperature testing to validate operation capabilities at extreme temps
Lighting control devices offer design and efficiency opportunities
Including intelligent controls in a bridge lighting system will improve energy efficiency and provide opportunities for automated or environmentally triggered visual effects management that can alter through the dark hours.
Customization for each bridge lighting project
No two infrastructure or bridge lighting projects are the same, and the opportunity to create the most striking lighting design may require custom fixtures. The Boca Lighting and Controls team has a proven history of creativity and willingness to meet customer needs by designing new products. Award-winning lighting designer Jackie Hui said this about the Boca team, “I’ve worked with many other manufacturers, and they try to convince me that one of their standard products will be sufficient. The experience working with Boca is, what do you need every time? What do you see? How do you see this? What I appreciate most is the dedication and willingness of the Boca team to work with designers to understand the parameters and limitations.”
Work with a partner with proven success in infrastructure lighting projects
Lighting technology advancements and a renewed interest in urban design have accelerated the use of light to create visibly pleasing structures like bridges and pedestrian walkways. New or renovated infrastructure projects are often required to have a sense of style. Correctly applying light can turn what was once unnoticed into a memorable landmark. As mentioned above, recent federal and local infrastructure initiatives will provide new opportunities to use accent lighting to create unique structures.
Contact the industry-leading team at Boca Lighting and Controls to discuss your next project.
