Montrose Bridge Lighting Gets Chance to Shine. Dug Begley, HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
Montrose officials spent more than two years working on ways to relight the bridges. After securing $1.4 million in state funds for a $1.7 million rehab of the lights, the management district opted for a more expensive plan to relight the bridges, after a presentation of options by Gandy², a local lighting design firm.
So, in total, the project is going to cost around $4MM (That's $1.7MM original cost plus an approximately $2MM "cost overrun"). Which, when you're spending other people's money, is really nothing at all. Not when you really have a chance to make the neighborhood shine in advance of the Super Bowl.
Show me ONE City that strives for World Classiness that DOESN'T have LED Rainbow Lighted Bridges I dare you.
Just ONE.
I mean, what would visitors for the Super Bowl think if they drove down the IH 69 corridor and saw just regular bridges? That's not World Class.
Never mind that a lot of us questioned the wisdom of installing the lights on the original bridges in the first place. It seems we've flushed those worries down the memory hole. After all, lights burn out and they have to be replaced and, well, to be honest, it's not OUR money we're spending....
So now we begin the process on doubling down on the boondoggle, only this time it appears that we're picking the proposal from the highest bidder.
Maybe, in 10 more years, when we need to replace the lighting again, someone can come up with a $10-$20 MM proposal that will be needed to make Houston "World Class".
Only then will the world classiness circle be fully complete.
The definition of insanity as practiced by what passes for leadership in the Houston Area.
