Remember when the lights lining the Henley Bridge used to shine in a range of colors celebrating all manner of events? I’ll always remember the night they turned purple in honor of Prince. But six years ago they went finally and completely dark. They succumbed to the weather and humidity from the river which rendered them useless. Now they are back in a newer, less expensive, brighter, and more durable form. Last night they were lighted for the first time.
Knoxville resident Ginger Jamrog, LED Lighting Concepts owner and Business Manager, spoke first at the ceremonial re-lighting and said she’s proud to make her home town the first large city to install this new technology. “Our new lamp combines LED and mesh technology, allowing for unprecedented control over architectural lighting applications. The Henley Bridge will be the first project in the nation to use this new technology, and we are thrilled be involved in the upgrades on the lighting for this iconic bridge.”
The lamp was developed by Jamrog’s company and the City of Knoxville Engineering Department Signal Shop staff did the fabrication. Knoxville-based LED Lighting Concepts was also involved. The groups dismantled and cleaned the 180 lights (90 on each side), replacing them with the new technology. The technology will allow a full range of colors to celebrate all manner of events. For example, next week the lights will turn multiple colors will signal the Knox Asian Festival and they will be pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Of course you’ll see red white and blue on a range of occasions, such as the anniversary of Knoxville’s founding, or very soon for our national election day.
Mayor Kincannon said:
We’re excited to have found a cost-effective solution that will again allow us to program the bridge lights in almost any color combinations to celebrate local festivals, public events and causes that Knoxvillians hold near and dear to their hearts. This is something we’ve been wanting to do for some time. It’s now more reliable and affordable due to new technology that wasn’t available in 2018, when the original lights stopped working. Not only are the new LED smart lamp bulbs state of the art, but they are one-tenth the cost of the old lighting systems – and we’re buying from a local company.
According to the press release, “The original bridge lights were part of the state’s $24.6 million complete reconstruction of the Henley Bridge, which began back in 2011. Those lights were powered through DMX cable, typically used in indoor movie theaters; the cable ran through a bridge railing . . . The new equipment is totally different – Bluetooth mesh, all wireless. Once the colors are mixed and programmed, they can be activated by a password-protected City phone or iPad.’
Click on this link to see the schedule of commemorative lightings through the end of 2024: www.KnoxvilleTN.gov/HenleyLights