FRENCHTOWN, N.J. — The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) has established a specific webpage for the programmable color-changing LED architectural lighting system on the agency’s Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Toll-Supported Bridge.
The webpage’s address is: https://www.drjtbc.org/bridge-info/frenchtownbridgelights. It contains a basic overview about the lighting system and the bridge, the Commission’s policy for requesting lighting shows, requirements for making lighting requests, and an online lighting request form that organizations may use to request lighting displays.
Other information includes the annual schedule of pre-programmed lighting displays, a list of the bridge lighting system’s major components, and the attributes of the LED lighting system.
The Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge is the third Commission river crossing to be outfitted with LED lights for purposes of highlighting the structure’s unique profile along the river. The other bridges with architectural lights are the Northampton Street Toll-Supported Bridge (colloquially referred to as the Easton-Phillipsburg “free bridge”) — https://www.drjtbc.org/bridge-info/northampton-street-bridge-lighting — and the New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge — https://www.drjtbc.org/bridge-info/newhopelambertvillelights.
(Note: The Commission’s Lower Trenton Toll-Supported Bridge also has LED display lighting, but that system is confined to the famous illuminated “Trenton Makes The World Takes” sign attached to two of the bridge’s five spans.)
The Uhlerstown-Frenchtown Bridge was outfitted with a color-programmable architectural lighting system as part of an extensive rehabilitation project that was executed throughout last year and into early this year. Work crews currently are removing the temporary platform below the bridge’s roadway deck, a process that is expected to end by mid-April.
Organizations interested in requesting special lighting displays should file at least 30 days in advance. Special programs run from 30 minutes before sunset until 11 p.m., at which point the bridge lights switch to a white default setting until dawn.
The bridge lighting system will not be adjusted for personal events, birthdays, anniversaries, or other personal occasions. All requested temporary adjustments to the lighting system must conform with the Commission standards of appropriateness and good taste. Lighting and animation decisions are at the DRJTBC’s sole discretion.
Special displays scheduled for April at the four Commission bridges with some degree of color-programmable lighting are:
- April 1: First night of Passover – red and white
- April 2: Autism Awareness – blue
- April 5: Easter – purple
- April 6: Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome – green and blue
- April 7: Sexual Violence Awareness – teal
- April 9: Last night of Passover – red and white
- April 10: Donate Life (organ donation) – green and blue
- April 11: Parkinson’s Awareness – blue
- April 19: Crime Victims’ Rights – blue
- April 29: Denim Day for Sexual Violence survivors – teal
