The bridge, which spans the Arkansas River, is 4,226 feet long, with a span over the river totalling 3,463 feet, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Billed as the world's longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge, construction was completed in August 2006. The addition of lights was completed a few months later.
Illumivision of Edmonton, Alberta, was responsible for the design and installation of the bridge lighting - 169 Illumivision Light Wave LX fixtures are installed at the base of the thirteen piers across the span of the dam. The fixture is an IP66-rated wall-washing LED that generates colour-changing effects, suited for the application.
Derek Pogany of Illumivision explained, "Originally the lighting for the bridge was to be designed with 1000 Watt metal halide lamps with blue dichroic filters. A mock-up was completed in the fall of 2004 by Illumivision to demonstrate the effect and benefits of LED lighting. The Light Wave fixture, 84 and 108 Watt RGB fixtures give the flexibility to control colour-changing effects, which makes the overall effect that much more dynamic.
"The challenge was to provide DMX to thirteen piers along the span of the bridge. We decided to use Wireless DMX for this install. It had to have an IP65 rating and operate without any interference." One W-DMX transmitter with 100-foot antenna cable, RF booster and a 14dBi antenna sent signal to 13 W-DMX receivers with 26-foot antenna cables and a 2dBi antenna are installed on every pier, each with a receiving antenna that feeds to an enclosure with 24 VDC power supplies and 3-output DMX splitters. The distance is 300 feet from the transmitter to first pier antenna, and 70 feet between each pier.
Pogany concluded, "Since the moment the lights turned on at the opening ceremony, we haven't had a single problem, and everyone is thrilled with the results. The lighting makes the bridge a spectacular sight and a special attraction for the city of Little Rock."
(Jim Evans)
