The Zakim Bridge

KentXie

KentXie

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I couldn't find a thread that related to the Zakim Bridge so I decided to make a new one. Van, you can move this to anywhere you want.

Turnpike woes to extinguish lights on Zakim Bridge
April 9, 2009 02:54 PM

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

One of Boston?s most iconic symbols, the Zakim Bridge, will go dark indefinitely tonight as the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority begins its most audacious effort yet to save money and stave off insolvency.


The turnpike authority may also turn off every fourth light in the Tip O?Neil Tunnel.

Since it opened in 2002, the electric blue lights on the towering bridge have been nearly as identifiable with Boston as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, appearing on television backdrops and even gracing the turnpike authority?s own homepage.

Bruce Springsteen played "Thunder Road" at the dedication of the bridge as 2,000 people marveled at the melding of modern engineering and aesthetics.

But the $15 billion Big Dig project, which created the 1,432-foot span, has left the turnpike authority billions of dollars in debt. Alan LeBovidge, the turnpike authority?s executive director, said he decided earlier this week to shut off the decorative lights at night to save about $5,000 per month.

Safety-related lighting, including lights to keep airplanes from crashing into the bridge, will remain on.

?Anything?s symbolic if you want, but I think it's money,? LeBovidge said. ?If it didn?t save me money, I wouldn?t do it.?

LeBovidge said he did not know how long the bridge would stay dark. It will depend, he said, on whether the authority can plug its deficit. LeBovidge said he is looking at a number of similar cost-saving measures, including turning off every fourth light in the Tip O?Neil Tunnel.

The turnpike board voted last month to delay a toll hike while it awaits action from the Legislature on Governor Deval Patrick?s plan to raise the gas tax by 19 cents per gallon to help fix the state's transportation system.

Some of that money would be used to bail out the turnpike authority.

?I?ve got to make it through [paying the authority?s bills] here, and it?s like crawling over broken glass,? LeBovidge said.

Meanwhile, the House voted this week to eliminate the turnpike authority, following a similar vote by the Senate. If Patrick signs a final version of the bill, the bridge will become somebody else's problem.
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I find this amusing seeing how the lights barely shine brightly anymore. There's probably no difference to how it looks like now and when it will be turned off.

Here's a picture accompanying it:
30130502H523382.jpg


I wished the lights were actually that bright
 
$5000 a month! Finally, all our problems are solved.
 
Meanwhile the board members whom voted for this will each receive automatic pay raises, which in total cost far more per month than $5,000, thanks to their obscenely cushy contracts.
 
The dark night - Pike blasted for pulling plug on Zaki

BOSTON HERALD Hillary Chabot By Hillary Chabot Friday, April 10, 2009

Pike officials are being lit into over switching off the iconic blue lights illuminating the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge as part of a frantic bid to get the debt-ridden agency out of the red.

Marketing executive Greg John, who offered to pay $2,500 the last time the blue lights faded in 2003, called the ploy ?a joke.?

?This is the front door to our city, and they?re turning out the lights,? he said.

John, whose Charlestown firm Kelley Habib John came up with the ?Massachusetts, it?s all here? slogan, said the saying needs an update.

?Massachusetts, it?s all here, and it?s pitch black,? John joked, claiming the supposed savings are ?like picking up a peanut in Fenway Park [map] and saying it?ll make a difference.?

Officials estimate the lighting shutdown, which started last night, will save $5,000 a month toward the Pike?s $2.2 billion debt, most of it from the Big Dig project.

The lights have been a trademark feature of the 1,432-foot bridge since it opened in 2002.

?I like them, I think everyone likes them,? said Pike Executive Director Alan LeBovidge. ?But we?re looking at everything we can to minimize costs.?

But Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board member Mary Connaughton said, ?This is a desperate act of symbolism. I would call on him to rescind the management raises he granted last fall rather than ruin the Boston skyline.?

The Pike spent more than $160,000 to raise the salary of 13 managers last year.

?This city went through many, many years of construction with the central artery project. We had detours and our quality of life suffered, and the big selling point of this bridge was the lights,? said Boston City Councilor Sal LaMattina.

Safety lighting on the bridge to protect passing planes will remain.

LeBovidge is also considering turning off every fourth light inside the Thomas P. O?Neill Jr., Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels, which could save 25 percent on electricity bills, and cutting overtime use to save money.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/re...on_Zakim:_The_dark_night/srvc=home&position=3
 
This is ridiculous and I wish something like this surprised me. The Turnpike Authority is a joke. It's one of the most useless organizations in the state and this just further adds to their "great" reputation. If anything this will come back to bite them in the ass, because people will be looking at what these board members make and what their bonuses are. The lights being only $5,000 a month, people are going to be scrutinizing every dollar spent from now on and it's not gonna be pretty when the people of Massachusetts see the frivolous spending.

It's a joke, it really is. If the lights are out longer than a month, I'll be shocked. The Public outrage will get to them before long, and if not I'm sure some company has 5 Grand to "Sponsor" the lights on the bridge. I still can't believe for $5,000 a month they're doing this. Yet they probably spend 10k a month on pencils and staplers. Only in Massachusetts.
 
on channel 5 last night there was an editorial about them shutting off the lights. The channel did the math and you would save more mony by laying off a single toll taker on the Mass Pike then shutting off the Zakim Lights.

They were comparing shuting off the lights to taking a favorite toy away from a child to punnish him or teach him a lession.
 
They should just turn the lights off at midnight so the majority of the masses can enjoy them while at the same time save money. They should also look into a lighting policy at all their properties as well in addition to reviewing HVAC operations and maintenance. A great deal of savings can be achieved during "unoccopied" times. $Millions is easily achievable with simple/basic practices.
 
They should just fire the incompetent officials in the Turnpike Authority.
 
Zakim Bridge Architect Pays to Keep Lights on

By Michael Levenson, Globe Staff

To many Bostonians, the words "Zakim Bridge" evoke the regal skirt of blue adorning the triangular swoop of the majestic span at night. So when the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority decided last week to douse the lights to save $5,000 a month, it crushed a lot of spirits, not least those of Miguel Rosales, the architect who designed the bridge.

After driving along Interstate 93 and gazing mournfully at his creation, darkened for the first time since it opened to great fanfare in 2002, he decided to do something about it. Today, Rosales mailed a check for $15,000 to the authority -- enough to light the bridge for three months -- and urged the agency to, please, pretty please, let the lights shine again, for the sake of the city.

"It just brings to life the whole structure at night," Rosales said today, adding that while he sympathized with the Turnpike Authority's financial plight, "Turning the lights off, I don?t think it really gives the right message. I think it makes it an even more depressing situation."

Turnpike officials were surprised by, and grateful for, Rosales's donation, a decidedly rare gesture of charity towards an agency that has been criticized as bloated and wasteful.

?My initial reaction is thank you,? said Alan LeBovidge, the executive director of the authority. ?And assuming he?s an upstanding guy, and assuming there's no legal impediment not to take it, I?d say we need $45,000 more.?

Still, LeBovidge said he was not sure if he would use the gift to turn the lights back on for three months. ?I don?t want to turn them on and turn them off and turn them on and turn them off,? LeBovidge said. ?If we?re going to do something like that, I?d like to have a sustainable solution.?

Rosales said he hopes his gift will inspire more private donations for the Zakim lights. "I feel maybe if I do a small gesture, I will give an impetus to other people to keep the lights on,? he said. "It was always my idea to have lighting on the bridge, and we always wanted the gateway effect of the tower to be highlighted by lighting."
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link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/zakim_bridge_ar.html

It's a nice gesture, but it's pathetic it's come to this.
 
Who needs the Globe? The Herald is always a better read on these sensationalistic non-stories:


Zakim bridge designer offers to pay for lighting
By Hillary Chabot
Monday, April 13, 2009 - Updated 1h ago

A co-designer of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge has offered to pay $15,000 to keep the iconic blue lights on after Pike director Alan LeBovidge plunged the bridge into darkness last week as a budget-cutting move.

Miguel Rosales, who designed the bridge built in 2001, said he is ?saddened and discouraged,? by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority?s new lights out policy.

?The aesthetic lighting of the bridge is an integral part of the design and was carefully planned to highlight the role of the bridge as an important gateway to the City of Boston,? Rosales wrote in a letter delivered today to the Pike along with a $15,000 check.

LeBovidge said shutting off the lights, which started last week, will save $5,000 a month and help reduce the agency?s $2.2 billion debts. Rosales? $15,000 would help keep the bridge lit for three months, though he hopes others will donate to keep the bridge lit year round.

?Please note that I also plan to partner with interested not-for-profits in the area to help promote and identify private financial support for the continued illumination of our beloved city landmark,? Rosales wrote.

LeBovidge declined comment, saying he hadn?t seen the letter.

Marketing executive Greg John applauded the move offered to pitch in $2,500, the same amount he offered the last time the blue lights went out in 2003. His one concession? Keep the lights blue.

?If they go all blue, I?ll donate the money,? John said. ?I?ll even make a challenge - I?ll match every dollar (LeBovidge) gives.?

The 1,432-foot bridge, which was opened in 2002, has become a landmark in the city and one of the most recognizable features of the pricey Big Dig.
Rosales worked with Swiss engineer Christian Menn to design the 10-lane bridge.

****

That guy Greg John is one of the more influential marketing/branding guys in Boston real estate - his ad firm is behind tons of major real estate developments throughout Greater Boston - I've worked with him on a project in the past, as an outsider to our industry he has a very different point of view on real estate than people within the industry - it's always interesting to hear.
 
I have a feeling LeBovidge will be using the money for something else...
 
I have a feeling that he should have found a better, unnoticeable place to turn off the lights to save money. And then, think about a more efficient bulb.

Pretty cool that the designer would (has) that kind of money to pitch in, but he better make sure he put a restriction on it to make sure it's used for the lights.
 
What if Deval Patrick stopped creating and/or filling positions for 85-115k with his neighbors, drivers, and other campaign contributers? I'm sure that would easily help reduce the budget and enable the bridge to actually be lit up.
 
Shutting the lights off on the bridge is a gigantic and visible "FUCK YOU" to the taxpayers. $60,000 in a year is less than one toll taker.

This happened in my old town... the town people voted down a tax over-ride, so many of the town departments had to shut some services. Each department took the most visible, and popular item and cut it. It's a FUCK YOU to the voters.

The dump got rid of the take-it/leave-it re-usable section that was always mobbed on weekends.

The library got rid of their single most popular (and inexpensive) program, and the schools got rid of the big town Field Day - where all the kids got to go out with their families and do activites...

None of these cuts saved anything close to what laying off one single administrator would do... but they were statements by each of the departments - don't cut our budgets.

The Pike is doing this by saving $60,000 of the $2,200,000,000 that they are in debt. If it wasn't so down-right dirty and nasty, it would be laughable.
 
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