U.S. 281 bridge lights on hold
A decision on installing new lights on the U.S. 281 bridge was put on hold by the Marble Falls EDC as officials find out who would be tasked with maintaining the lights. Staff photo by Nathan Bush
New lights for the U.S. 281 bridge in Marble Falls are on hold as Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. officials seek clarification on whether the EDC or the Texas Department of Transportation would be responsible for maintaining them.
The EDC Board of Directors considered a roughly $1.24 million bid from Schmidt Electric for electrical work on the bridge and throughout the city’s parks system during a regular meeting on July 2. Of that amount, about $845,000 is slated for bridge lighting.
“I think we need a conclusion on this maintenance question before we can act on this,” said EDC board President Steve Reitz. “If we’re on the hook for (maintaining), it’s a totally different situation.”
If approved, plans include illuminating the west side of the bridge. The city would be able to change the colors of the lights for special events, such as holidays and Friday night football games.
“I really support the bridge thing,” Reitz said. “I think the impact of that, overall, for our projects going on down in the parks area, is pretty significant.”
Attempts to determine whether the EDC or TxDOT would be responsible for bridge light maintenance have so far been unsuccessful, according to EDC Executive Director Christian Fletcher.
“I will continue trying,” he said. “They’re busy, and we’re dealing with stuff that isn’t squarely on their critical priority radar.”
The state traffic agency has been difficult to communicate in the past, he continued.
“We’ve asked for feedback on the future of the 281-1431 (intersection) and have gotten no response on that,” said Fletcher, referring to an inquiry to TxDOT regarding the EDC’s recent $2 million purchase of a property at U.S. 281 and RR 1431. “It’s impactful to the property we bought in terms of what can be done there. They’ve just been radio silent.”
Director Ryan Nash shared his view on the lights if the EDC was tasked with maintaining them.
“I wouldn’t want us to be in the maintenance business and maintaining these light fixtures,” he said. “They’re going to break. They’re going to wear out. Changing them would be a nightmare. We’d be encumbering future EDC boards to figure out how to deal with that.”
He argued that TxDOT should maintain the new lights.
“On a highway structure, it seems like the state ought to take care of it if they agree to let us install them,” Nash said.
Director John Packer reminded officials that the majority of the lights currently maintained by TxDOT are out of service.
“More of them are out than that are on,” he said. “I counted the other day. There are 16 lights. I think I counted nine of them that were out.”
Another issue for EDC directors is the potential traffic impact associated with installation.
“With traffic being what it is already, and then condensing it to one lane for however long, there’s going to be a lot of public outcry with that,” said EDC board Vice President Mark Mayfield.
Fletcher was unable to provide a timeline for how long it would take to install the new lights.
Director Lindsay Plante echoed the concerns set out by Mayfield and Nash.
“Every time there’s going to be any repair or maintenance, we might have to go get the permit, the crane, and be the ones responsible for shutting down a lane on the bridge,” she said. “That’s hard to swallow for me because, right now, we already have lights and they’re nice lights.”
Director Dave Rhodes was absent from the meeting.
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The EDC needs to scrap the bridge lighting idea. Might sound good but it is a waste of money. Concentrate on lighting city owned property. Let Txdot deal with bridge issues.