Light The Mackinac Bridge
Show your support for LED lighting of The Mackinac Bridge.
Light the Mackinac Bridge is a place where you can show your support for the dream of equipping the Mackinac Bridge with a computerized LED lighting system. This would allow the bridge to appear as it does today, but would also give it the added capability to change colors, animate, reflect seasonal colors or holidays and commemorative occasions (like breast cancer awareness week, and autism awareness, etc.).
The Bridge is an iconic symbol of the State of Michigan. The LED lighting project is a way of making the 50-year-old Mackinac Bridge a brand-new cutting edge attraction. The resulting beautiful displays could span the entire year, changing season after season, week after week, even night after night, boosting Michigan's economy by attracting tourist dollars (tourism is now Michigan's number one industry). These type of systems, in use around the globe, have an extremely long life, which saves maintenance costs as well as consuming a fraction of the energy that the existing conventional lighting system uses.
Light The Mackinac Bridge With Computerized LED Lighting
See how LED lighting is giving historic structures and bridges, like the Mackinac Bridge a new life as stunning nighttime attractions. Take a LED tour of the globe and imagine the Mackinac Bridge made new again as a cutting edge attraction with beautiful night lights. This video was created by brothers Frank Rogala and Vince Rogala in an effort to gain public support for equipping the Mackinac Bridge with a computerized LED lighting system.
How The Project to "Light The Mackinac Bridge" with LED Lights Began
Vince Rogala, the self appointed (and now recognized by the Mackinac Bridge Authority), spokesperson for the project is credited with getting the ball rolling. The origin of the idea came to Vince as he was researching LED lighting for illuminating trees. Vince is one of four brothers who operate one of Michigan's largest family owned campgrounds, Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping, (www.CampMackinaw.com). "I was looking on the web for a new way to provide nighttime lighting that was both practical and tranquil for our campground. I came across LED architectural lightning on large structures, one of which was a bridge, when instantly it dawned on me - how amazing the Mackinac Bridge would look with LED lights!" explained Rogala.
"I wasn't sure how popular or possible the idea would be until I started casually telling people about the concept. Everyone was eager for more information, and full of lots of questions. I knew I needed help spreading the word, so I asked my brother Frank to give me a hand," explained Rogala.
Vince and Frank both have experience in the entertainment industry, having signed a record deal together in Hollywood just after graduating from Mackinaw City High School. Experienced at creating music, video, and films, they have landed their work on major record labels, MTV, the Sundance Channel and NetFlix. "Frank has the artistic skills in video, sound, and the Internet that were needed to bring this idea to a bigger audience," explained Vince.
The brothers created photo illustrations of what the bridge might look like lit with colored LED lights, and then after finding dozens of videos on YouTube showing other bridge lighting projects, they assembled their own. The final step was putting all the material onto the web, including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, so that it could be easily viewed and shared by those who might support the idea.
As an enthusiastic champion of the Mackinac Bridge, Rogala has seen the bridge from many viewpoints, "Like hundreds of thousands of others, I have walked the five mile span on the Labor Day Bridge Walk. I've taken sunset cruises under the bridge, walked through the underbelly of the steel superstructure with the rumble of traffic just above my head," but Rogala recalls his most exciting memory was while working as a videographer. Shooting the Bridge provided Rogala the rare opportunity to go to the very top of the 552 foot towers on three different occasions to capture footage. "It was both terrifying and breathtaking," recalls Rogala.
Vince adds, "Coincidentally, Frank had just finished creating an artist rendition of what the bridge could look like lit with LED lights for the 4th of July, on the actual 4th of July. That very night at our campground, which has a mile of shoreline on the Straits of Mackinac, a couple thousand of our campers gathered along the shore to watch the 4th of July fireworks from Mackinaw City, St. Ignace and Mackinac Island. Those fireworks always raise cheers and I thought 'what if the 5 mile long bridge was simultaneously animated in Red, White and Blue during the fireworks' - it would be spectacular. There would be nothing like it anywhere else."
"These types of systems have been installed around the world, they last 25 years, and with the lowered energy and maintenance cost, they make sense," added Vince. "We aren't inventing the wheel, we just want to bring it to Mackinac."
"The system would create a five mile long, 552 foot tall light display, not to mention save energy and lower maintenance costs," said Rogala. "There could be a different color theme each month or even each night. Imagine holiday colors (Green for St. Patrick's Day, Red for Valentine's Day), as well as commemorative displays (blue for Autism Awareness and pink for Breast Cancer Awareness). It's a way of making the 50 year old Mackinac Bridge 'new' again! It is possible to make the Mackinac Bridge an even greater attraction."
Rogala received an invitation to present his idea to the seven-member Mackinac Bridge Authority at their July 2012 meeting on Mackinac Island. The Mackinac Bridge Authority, which was established in 1950, oversees the financial and legal services necessary to preserve and maintain one of the world's leading suspension bridges.
"It was a great opportunity to get in front of not only the decision makers on the panel, but also the engineering staff for the bridge," said Rogala. Vince's presentation showing artworks, narration, and a short video was set to run about 8 minutes, but ran well over 20 minutes as board members asked questions and expressed their thoughts.
"To sum it up I'd say the Mackinac Bridge Authority is intrigued with the concept of an LED lighting system for the bridge. They were very open to the idea. We discussed thoughts on how to balance and preserve the historical character of the bridge with a fresh modern element. After finishing, the board took the time to compliment my presentation," said Rogala.
Explaining further, Rogala said, "The Bridge Authority encouraged me to continue building local and state wide support, to pursue ways to finance the project, and left an open invitation to re-address the Bridge Authority as the undertaking moves forward."
Following the suggestions of the Mackinac Bridge Authority, Rogala is asking the public to show their support by liking the "Light The Mackinac Bridge" page on Facebook (Facebook.com/LightTheMackinacBridge), spreading the word by sharing the video about the project or leaving a comment at www.LightTheMackinacBridge.com (below) and following the effort @LightTheBridge on Twitter. Rogala is beginning work on a fundraising effort to raise money for billboards, media and internet ads in order to gain public and political support as well as corporate sponsorship to "Light The Mackinac Bridge."
More Resources:
- Official Press Release at PRWeb.com
- Official Press Resources (including high-resolution photos) (Coming Soon!)
- On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LightTheMackinacBridge
- On Twitter: http://twitter.com/LightTheBridge
5 Comments
Reader Comments (5)
I would suggest the lighting system include lighting that would mimic the current lights as well as colorfull alternatives. Then I would suggest returning to the current lighting scenario for 15 minutes every hour (or at least for the first 2 or 3 hours after the lights come on). In this way, the current beauty of the bridge will not be lost.
I am all for it! It will save cost to the bridge authority and LEDs last much longer so the expenses of having people replace bulbs should go down as well. One note is that the system will need to be replaced every 25 years if like the system for the Tower Bridge so that expense will need to be included in the budget.
My wife and I were vacationing at Mackinaw City, this past week. The LED lighting would definitely be an attention grabber. I hope that the idea is applied to such a great stucture.
I love the idea! I think some periods of 'original lighting' would be fitting as well. From an energy and maintenance perspective, this would seem a 'no brainer'... Has there been resistance to it? Great idea!!
If you like this idea, the best thing you can do is to share, share and share again the Light The Mackinac Bridge Facebook page. The powers that be are very interested in how many "likes" that page gets.
I remember that during the Bicentennial in 1976 the number 76 appeared in the Bridge lights. Even this rather simple effort produced quite a bit of comment around the State. Certainly an LED light installation would create a great deal more attention in publications around the nation and make for a major tourist destination, similar to what happened during Bridge construction when many folks made special trips to the Straits area to keep track of progress on the new link to the U.P.