Contractor - Emerson Bridge lights to return by May 1

A St. Louis-based contractor says the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge will gets its lights back on by May 1, but state officials are a little more cautious.

Sachs Electric, the St. Louis-based company responsible for installing the lights, is sticking to its promise of May 1, while the Missouri Department of Transportation has announced mid-May as the deadline.

MoDOT officials say they gave a mid-May date to allow for unexpected delays.

But Sachs is sure.

"The repair parts are on a truck right now," Sachs spokesman Keith Robinson said Thursday afternoon. "They will be delivered by 10 a.m. Friday, and we will have a crew on the bridge Monday morning."

The lens frames on the lights had to be replaced because water was leaking into the light fixtures. The lights were turned off March 11 because MoDOT feared a dangerous situation in the event of an electrical storm.

Sachs bought the lights from Hubbell Lighting of Christianburg, Va. Hubbell had redesigned the fixtures prior to shipping, but inadvertently sent the wrong lights.

Hubbell is absorbing the cost of replacing the lens frames. Scott Meyer, MoDOT engineer, said the replacement will not cost Missouri taxpayers. The lights are under warranty, he said.

No one contacted at Hubbell Electric would say how much the company will have to pay to replace the frames, but Robinson at Sachs estimated that the cost of the lens frames, along with labor and shipping, might run about $40,000.

Robinson said people have asked him why there were no drain holes in the lights originally installed on the lights. He said the lights are marine-rated.

"The lights are intended to be able to be used on wharfs and shores," Robinson said. "Underwriters Laboratories said for fixtures to be marine-rated, they cannot have holes in them. For some reason the lens frames, even though they had been through testing for marine rating, did not work and that's why we're replacing them."

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson said he is disappointed by the fact that the lights were shut off because of a malfunction that he believes could have been prevented.

"I'm sick and tired of excuses," Knudtson said. "I just want the lights on. I can't believe this is the first bridge somebody tried to light. In my opinion it's inexcusable."

Knudtson said having to turn off the lights has been disappointing to the entire community, especially those who helped raise the money to pay for the lights.

"We teased the citizens a little bit," he said. "We turned them on and it was beautiful and then we took it away. The citizens are very anxious to get that bridge lit again."

"I'm looking forward to them turning the lights back on," said Chelsea Bowerman, assistant to the director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 32 N. Main St. "They're so bright and you can see them from so far away; it really makes an impact on the whole downtown area."

Robinson said having to replace the lens frames is one of those unfortunate things that sometimes happens.

"I'm sure Hubbell wishes it hadn't happened," he said. "I know we wish it hadn't happened. It's no fun to have to go back and fix something."