The project team is working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the turtles from stray lighting that could negatively impact their safety. Some of those guidelines include turtle safe lighting during certain times of the year. We are investing in state of the art RGBA LED technology that has the specific amber color that is safe for turtles. The team has committed to being fully compliant with local and federal turtle safety requirements. We love the turtles too! In fact, one of our Board members volunteered to walk the beach and monitor turtle nesting and turtle hatchings throughout the summer in 2018.
The Orange Beach community will benefit in many ways. Aesthetically: Once the sun goes down, residents and visitors will be able to gaze upon a beautiful tapestry of color highlighting the bridge over the Perdido Pass. Economically: In addition to the beautiful daytime photos of the Perdido Pass that are regularly used for marketing our resort community to visitors, we will also have spectacular night skyline photos featuring the lighted Perdido Pass Bridge and surrounding structures. The message… the fun does not set in Orange Beach… we have a nightlife as entertaining and inspiring as our daytime activities. An increase in tourism adds revenue to our city for schools, community improvements, etc. Community Celebrations: We will be able to create light shows celebrating holidays, events and accomplishments that are important to our community so we can have shared and uniting celebratory experiences.
The lights well be controlled by the City of Orange Beach, with input from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for turtle safety and the U.S. Coast Guard for navigational concerns.
We are working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard to insure the bridge lighting will not interfere with navigational lights. They have specific requirements regarding bridge lighting and these guidelines will be strictly followed an enforced.
The lights will not interfere with a driver’s view of the road. The LED lighting will be indirect and unobtrusive.
No, the lights will be programmed to turn off at certain times of the year, depending on the time of the year. The latest they will be on will be midnight, unless there is a special exception such as New Year’s Eve. The intensity of the lighting, which will be indirect and unobtrusive, will be programmed to comply with the City of Orange Beach Lighting Ordinances. During Turtle Hatching Season (May – October), strict night lighting requirements (federal and local) will be followed to protect the turtles.
The expense for this project will be covered by personal and corporate donations and grants.
The goal is to complete the project by year-end 2023. This will be determined by the amount and rate of contributions given.
The design team is giving strong consideration to utilizing solar power on the project and the feasibility of that option is currently being studied.
The exact wattage required to light the bridge is not known at this time. However, a bridge twice our length with more structure illuminated has an average power bill of $250.00 per month. LED bridge lighting is among the most energy-efficient options a city can choose when deciding ways to improve the community. LED lighting is widely known for using less power than traditional lighting and rarely needs to be replaced, providing an eco-friendly lighting option with an extremely long lifespan.