Pakistani American Helps
Turn Los Angeles Harbor Bridge into Nighttime Star
By Loretta A. Conley
Mr. Pervez Lodhie presents a picture plaque of the
Vincent Thomas Bridge to LA Mayor Jim Hahn |
On January 30, 2005, when
Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn threw the switch and the lights
sparkled for the first time on the Vincent Thomas Bridge
it was hard to determine who beamed brighter: The new blue
LED lights or the residents of San Pedro, California, who
after 17 years of setbacks finally saw their bridge adorned
with the lights they had long envisioned. Funding, energy
shortages, migrating birds and a pair of nesting peregrine
falcons had all thwarted previous attempts to string lights
across the mile-long span. While frustrating, the delays
proved beneficial in the end. Advances in lighting technology
enabled the ideal solution - Blue LEDs, which weren’t
available in 1988 when the campaign began to light the bridge.
The Blue LED lamps that crown the bridge’s cables
were provided by Southern California-located LEDtronics
Inc., owned by Pakistani-American Pervaiz Lodhie. “They
work as we expected, but seeing all the LED lamps lit up
was amazing,” remarked Lodhie.
Poised elegantly above the main channel of the Los Angeles
Harbor, the Vincent Thomas Bridge serves a multitude of
functions in the local community and beyond. It is the official
welcoming monument for the City of Los Angeles. As the 3rd
longest suspension bridge in California, behind the Golden
Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, it is a source
of local pride. And, the Vincent Thomas Bridge plays an
integral part in the economies of Los Angeles, Southern
California and the United States as it is the main conduit
through which goods flow from the Los Angeles Harbor to
the nation’s network of highways and stores.
Lodhie was brought into the project by Lighting Design Alliance
of Long Beach who, on the behalf of the Vincent Thomas Bridge
Lighting Committee, investigated LEDs as a viable solution
for lighting the bridge. LEDs are small but strikingly bright
lights that use only a fraction of the electricity incandescent
lights consume. Additionally, they operate for years and
are nearly indestructible. For over five years, Lodhie collaborated
with community leaders, civil agencies and environmentalists
to develop an LED light that would be acceptable to all
parties. Several variations of LED lamps were tested before
the solar-powered, 360-Blue LED lamp received the go-ahead.
To Lodhie, the project was less a lighting job and more
of an opportunity to help Southern California. The effort
to light the Vincent Thomas Bridge began in 1988 as a grass-roots
effort by the residents of San Pedro who held a variety
of fund raisers from organizing bridge walks and selling
commemorative items to placing collection tins in area stores.
Even with all the frustrations, community support for the
project never wavered. Their determination wasn’t
lost on Lodhie. “I felt privileged to be a part of
such an event in Southern California, and wanted to do what
I could to make it happen.” More interested in helping
to create a positive image for the region than making a
profit, Lodhie’s LEDtronics developed and furnished
the LED lamps at cost. Lodhie’s reward is the sense
of accomplishment and connection with the community. “Feedback
has been fantastic and confirmed that what we did was appreciated
by everyone in the area.”
The Vincent Thomas Bridge is visible to diners at the nearby
Ports-of-Call restaurants, vacationers onboard the Princess
Cruise liners, and to all vessels entering or exiting the
main channel of the Los Angeles Harbor, the busiest port
in the United States and the eighth busiest in the world.
And with the addition of its sparkling blue lights, the
Vincent Thomas Bridge will undoubtedly enchant tourists
and mariners alike to become an internationally recognizable
icon for both the Los Angeles region and the harbor, encouraging
tourism and commercial investment. Already, the illuminated
bridge is the cornerstone of an ongoing revitalization effort
aimed at transforming the waterfront into a dynamic destination
for leisure and industry. More importantly, the Vincent
Thomas Bridge represents what can be achieved with a little
technology, a helping of generosity and a lot of determination.
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