April,
2005
Pakistani American Helps Turn Los Angeles Harbor Bridge
into Nighttime Star
 On
January 30, 2005, when Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn threw the switch
and the lights sparkled for the first time on the Vincent Thomas Bridge
it was hard to determine who beamed brighter: The new blue LED lights
or the residents of San Pedro, California, who after 17 years of setbacks
finally saw their bridge adorned with the lights they had long envisioned.
Funding, energy shortages, migrating birds and a pair of nesting peregrine
falcons had all thwarted previous attempts to string lights across the
mile-long span. While frustrating, the delays proved beneficial in the
end. Advances in lighting technology enabled the ideal solution - Blue
LEDs, which weren’t available in 1988 when the campaign began to
light the bridge. The Blue LED lamps that crown the bridge’s cables
were provided by Southern California-located LEDtronics Inc., owned by
Pakistani-American Pervaiz Lodhie. “They work as we expected, but
seeing all the LED lamps lit up was amazing,” remarked Lodhie.
Poised elegantly above the main channel of the Los Angeles Harbor, the
Vincent Thomas Bridge serves a multitude of functions in the local community
and beyond. It is the official welcoming monument for the City of Los
Angeles. As the 3rd longest suspension bridge in California, behind the
Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, it is a source of local
pride. And, the Vincent Thomas Bridge plays an integral part in the economies
of Los Angeles, Southern California and the United States as it is the
main conduit through which goods flow from the Los Angeles Harbor to the
nation’s network of highways and stores.
Lodhie was brought into the project by Lighting Design Alliance of Long Beach
who, on the behalf of the Vincent Thomas Bridge Lighting Committee, investigated
LEDs as a viable solution for lighting the bridge. LEDs are small but strikingly
bright lights that use only a fraction of the electricity incandescent lights
consume. Additionally, they operate for years and are nearly indestructible.
For over five years, Lodhie collaborated with community leaders, civil agencies
and environmentalists to develop an LED light that would be acceptable to all
parties. Several variations of LED lamps were tested before the solar-powered,
360-Blue LED lamp received the go-ahead.
To Lodhie, the project was less a lighting job and more of an opportunity to
help Southern California. The effort to light the Vincent Thomas Bridge began
in 1988 as a grass-roots effort by the residents of San Pedro who held a variety
of fund raisers from organizing bridge walks and selling commemorative items
to placing collection tins in area stores. Even with all the frustrations, community
support for the project never wavered. Their determination wasn’t lost
on Lodhie. “I felt privileged to be a part of such an event in Southern
California, and wanted to do what I could to make it happen.” More interested
in helping to create a positive image for the region than making a profit, Lodhie’s
LEDtronics developed and furnished the LED lamps at cost. Lodhie’s reward
is the sense of accomplishment and connection with the community. “Feedback
has been fantastic and confirmed that what we did was appreciated by everyone
in the area.”
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is visible to diners at the nearby Ports-of-Call restaurants,
vacationers onboard the Princess Cruise liners, and to all vessels entering or
exiting the main channel of the Los Angeles Harbor, the busiest port in the United
States and the eighth busiest in the world. And with the addition of its sparkling
blue lights, the Vincent Thomas Bridge will undoubtedly enchant tourists and
mariners alike to become an internationally recognizable icon for both the Los
Angeles region and the harbor, encouraging tourism and commercial investment.
Already, the illuminated bridge is the cornerstone of an ongoing revitalization
effort aimed at transforming the waterfront into a dynamic destination for leisure
and industry. More importantly, the Vincent Thomas Bridge represents what can
be achieved with a little technology, a helping of generosity and a lot of determination.
For additional information on how to incorporate LEDs into your designs,
contact LEDtronics toll free at 1-800-579-4875, telephone 310-534-1505,
fax at 310-534-1424, e-mail webmaster@ledtronics.com or mail at LEDtronics
Inc., 23105 Kashiwa Court, Torrance, CA 90505.
Visit our website at www.ledtronics.com.
Link to bulb used on the Vincent Thomas Bridge: BSD
1928
Link to article: Pakistani
Link
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