Shedding light on lighting the Rainbow Bridge

Lighting Rainbow Bridge and brightening a local holiday season marred by the COVID-19 pandemic involved more than merely flipping a switch.

Much more, in fact.

“This story goes back quite a few years with a promise I made to Don Scott,” Mayor Ramon Hayes told the Weekly News last Saturday.

Scott, a longtime La Conner business owner, had for years led a private effort to light the much photographed arched span, which is owned by Skagit County. It has helped define the community since its dedication in 1957.

But beset with liability concerns, county officials issued Scott a cease and desist order and the bridge went dark.

“Don met with the county,” Hayes recalled, “but they were worried that they couldn’t take on the liability. So, I made a promise to Don that we would do everything we could to get it lit again.”

That promise has now been kept.

A combination of new technology that dramatically reduced costs and cooperative interlocal agreements between the Town, Skagit County and Port of Skagit has the bridge aglow, again.

Many hurdles, some seemingly higher than the bridge itself, had to be cleared beforehand.

Initial estimates received by the Town put the cost of commercially lighting the bridge at around $150,000, said Hayes.

“That,” he said, “made it cost prohibitive.”

The Town turned to Skagit County officials, who committed to seeking grant funding for the project. But they cautioned that approval for those monies could take from three to five years, Hayes said.

Fortunately, technology was evolving at a much quicker pace with a new generation of LED (light emitting diode) bulbs at greatly reduced costs.

Hayes immediately contacted Town Public Works Director Brian Lease.

“I got ahold of Brian and he stepped up and said, ‘let me research this,’” Hayes said. “He discovered we could obtain 600 lights for less than $5,000.”

It took a few tries to find industrial strength magnets that would adhere to the bridge surface through the many layers of paint. Upon inspection earlier this fall, Lease and county engineers were convinced the new bulb and magnet system would work.

“Brian,” Hayes noted, “really went above and beyond with this.”

Including labor, the project penciled out at $10,000 or less. The Town successfully approached Skagit County and Port of Skagit officials with a proposal to share costs for lighting the bridge.

“The three county commissioners were all on board with it,” Hayes said. “They couldn’t believe we could get it at that cost. And (Port of Skagit Executive Director) Patsy Martin immediately told me ‘yes’ when I asked them to contribute financially. Plus, of course, our Town Council was also instrumental in making this happen.”

Axthelm Construction was contracted to install the bulbs and magnets on the north side of the bridge, a weather dependent task completed in less than a week and a half.

The lights were turned on at dusk last Friday. People strolling the waterfront boardwalk termed it “beautiful,” “stunning” and “awesome.” So did folks who saw it from SR 20, including Scott..

Perhaps no one was more pleased than Scott.

“My bucket list is complete,” he said.

Scott, 82, remains a folk hero in La Conner for having lit the bridge and downtown buildings after he and wife Sharon moved here in 1987 to open The Scott Collection gallery. Don Scott had gotten over an early fear of heights working on tall towers as a U.S. Air Force radar technician.

Still, climbing atop Rainbow Bridge equipped with two 500-foot strings of regular Christmas lights “was quite an undertaking,” Scott recalls.

“There was a time when my wife didn’t want me on the bridge,” he conceded. “I’d be up there for about 10 minutes and people would start calling her saying, ‘Don’s on the bridge.’”

He could not help himself. Lighting the bridge became Scott’s passion.

In those days, Scott would receive cautious approval from the powers that be to string lights on both sides of the bridge. Hayes said the late La Conner teacher and civic leader Tom Winn was among those who often helped Scott.

About the time the Scotts moved to Bay View, county officials started taking a dim view of private citizens taking on the bridge lighting. Liability restraints prevailed.

When the Scotts moved back to La Conner, they were disappointed to see the bridge unlit. Once again, Don – then aided by Peter Hubl – literally took things into his own hands, this time doing so in stealth mode.

“The last time I did the bridge it was at 3 a.m.,” Scott said. “I didn’t want anyone to know I was up there.”

It was shortly thereafter, upon Scott’s receipt of the county directive, that Hayes made his vow to have the bridge re-lit.

“I’m so happy we were able to fulfill that promise,” Hayes said.

Scott, meanwhile, is beyond appreciative.

“I’m thrilled,” he said on Monday. “I think they did a fantastic job. It’s been such a great process to see unfold.”

Only one thing is left to be done, Scott said.

“Now,” he said, “I’m going to need to present the mayor with my repair kit.”