A new lighting system for the Crescent City Connection is in the works. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development today may pick a contractor to build it.
Hurricane Ida effectively knocked out the bridge's old decorative lighting system, first installed in the 1980s. The new lights will bring high-tech illumination to the bridge's superstructure, kind of like the lights projected on the Superdome.
The first round of bidding got no takers, so DoTD spokesman Dan Gitlin says they revised the bid criteria.
"These are state funds; they are collected from taxpayers," said Gitlin. "The city of New Orleans is paying half of this. We have an obligation to make sure that we get the job done right, but, at the same time, that we're doing it responsibly."
Gitlin says originally, they wanted the work to be done without impacting traffic. After meeting with potential bidders, one of the revisions made was to allow for some continuous lane closures, during off-peak traffic hours.
"They can, over a weekend or an evening, close down an entire lane, which gives them more flexibility to get the work done," he said.
Gitlin says there is no timetable yet, but they would really like to see the $15 to $20 million project completed by the time New Orleans hosts Super Bowl LIX next year.
