TxDOT making changes on Downtown bridge lights
Three months ago, new multi-colored lights popped up on a pair of bridges over Interstate 10, book-ending Downtown El Paso.
But those multi-colored LED lights are now just one color.
“They’re cool!” said El Pasoan Adam Reinke, who indicated he likes the many different colors best.
They have the capability of changing from blue to green to yellow and red and even purple. However, for the last couple of weeks, they’ve only been blue.
“I think I have the extreme view of the bridge,” said medical student Tarrah Folley, who lives in an apartment overlooking I-10 and the Prospect Street bridge. “I like that they add character to Downtown and it kind of attracts people to Downtown. They’re fun!”
She noticed recently, however, they’ve been limited to just one color … blue.
“When we got back from our vacation over winter break,” she said, “I noticed they didn’t change as much.”
Texas Department of Transportation officials, who said the state paid $250,000 for the bridge lights, have determined that some colors, like red, yellow and green — the same colors as traffic signals — may be distracting to some drivers.
“They look great … I think they make El Paso look great,” said one unidentified driver. “Maybe for some drivers (they’re distracting). For the daily driver, I don’t think it’s a problem.”
“I think it certainly could be (distracting),” Folley added. “Sometimes it’s distracting in our house. I think I can see how it can be distracting.”
“I think they’ve got bigger things to worry about with texting then with lights,” said El Pasoan Victor Maldonado. “I guess at a quick glance it’d be OK, but I don’t see why they would worry about that and not other things.”
Maldonado said he’d like to see the colors come back.
TxDOT sent an email to ABC-7 stating they are working on a new multi-color pattern for the lights — one that does not include red, yellow or green — which will be implemented soon.
The Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority told ABC-7 the Airway art project, which has the capability of many different colors, has also been limited to basic colors due to TxDOT driver concerns.
