Bayview Bridge Shines at Night


In the 1980s, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the city of Quincy faced an interesting problem in that The Quincy Soldier's Memorial Bridge on U.S. 24 was inadequate to handle traffic over the Mississippi River, but the structure was still sound. 

After due diligence, IDOT’s solution was to build a second new twin bridge. While the Memorial Bridge would handle eastbound traffic, a new Quincy Bayview bridge would be built about 900 feet north of the old bridge to handle westbound traffic.

Built in 1986 at the cost of $32 million, the Quincy Bayview Bridge is an early cable stay bridge, at least for the US. The bridge has 56 cables set up in 4 planes, with each plane having 7 cables on each side of the 182-foot main towers. Each pair of cables supports a 60 foot long by 6 foot thick bridge deck section. The sections were unique at the time since they were a combination of prefabricated steel and precast concrete. Also, unique was a new epoxy coating on the cables. Both of these innovative features are now commonly found on more recent cable stayed bridges.

After completion, the twin bridges easily handle traffic between Quincy Ill., and Quincy, Mo.  Known as Illinois's "Gem City," is a city on the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County, Quincy has a population of more than 40,000 people and remains a prominent river city. It has several historic districts, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District and the South Side German Historic District showcasing the architecture of Quincy's many German immigrants from the late-19th century.  Adjacent to Quincy, on the Missouri side of the river, is West Quincy and a vast floodplain used primarily for farming. 


Bringing Back the Architectural Luster

After almost 30 years of service, the IDOT decided to bring the luster back to the Bayview Bridge through a new lighting project.  The criteria for the project was to find a lighting scheme that would high the architectural beauty of the bridge without creating maintenance issues and energy cost.  Klinger Associates, P.C., Quincy, Ill., Brown Electrical Construction Company, Quincy, Ill., and Lighting Associates Inc., Webster Groves, Mo., worked together to develop a lighting program to meet IDOT’s criteria.

After a thorough investigation, Bayview is now highlighted by 78 Dyna Flood QA and eight Dyna Drum HO RGBA luminaires from Acclaim Lighting, Los Angles, Calif., Using Acclaim’s quad-color technology, the Dyna Flood QA contains four colors, RGB+amber, under a single lens. Because quad-color technology mixes the colors under the lens unlike traditional technology that color mixes outside of the lens, Dyna Flood QA delivers precise color matching.

Dyna Flood QA offers beam angles of 20, 40 and 60 degrees, and provides 1,233 lumens with efficacy of 20.55. Consuming 60 watts, the long-lasting units are warranted for five years and retain 70 percent of brightness at 50,000 hours.

Ideal for facade and large-scale area flood lighting, the Dyna Drum HO features an adjustable yoke with onboard 180-degree flip inverted digital control display for menu selections and addressing. With its 100-277-volt AC internal power supply, Dyna Drum fixtures consume only 270 watts in replacing traditional 400-watt outdoor discharge fixtures.

The color-changing Dyna Drum HO features RGBA chips, while the single-color version is available in 2,700, 3,000, 3,500, 4,000 and 5,500 K, providing a lumen range of 9,000 to 17,232 at 5,500 K. The Dyna Drum HO is available in beam angles of 6 degrees standard, with 25-, 40- and 60-degree0-spread lens options.

Both Dyna Flood QA and Dyna Drum HO have an IP 66 wet-location rating.  Their die-cast aluminum housings are available in gray, black and white to blend easily into the environment. The units mount to a standard 4-inch-round electrical box, and for simple connect-ability are designed with separate IP-rated power and signal cables, and bare end wires. With a DMX-512 control system, each unit features an auto-switching, multi-voltage power supply and an on-board touch-sensitive menu. The long-lasting units are warranted for five years.