First look: A $6 million art project will make this bridge shine bright in Fort Lauderdale
A $6 million art project is expected to transform a bridge in Fort Lauderdale into a shiny nighttime display, with the hope of bedazzling tourists.
The art plans are in the works for the E. Clay Shaw Jr. Bridge, also known as the Southeast 17th Street bridge, which is situated near the Broward County Convention Center and Pier Sixty-Six. Broward County Administrator Monica Cepero said the bridge art project has been talked about “for a number of years,” but now is a “tremendous opportunity” to time it with the opening of the renovated Broward County Convention Center and hotel in 2025.
It is “time for us to also have an iconic piece of art,” Cepero said.
The theme of the artistic design is “Everyone Under the Sun & Everyone Under the Stars,” and the light display will be visible from the boats and water taxis traveling the Stranahan River, Port Everglades, and the riverfront.
Phillip Dunlap, director of the county’s Cultural Division, said there are “infinite possibilities of combinations of color” but the lighting scheme will need to eventually be approved by both the county and the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. It will only be lit at night. Dunlap said fixtures will shine the light onto the bridge, rather than the bridge emitting the lights.
As Broward backs the project, artistic renderings have been released to show what’s possible for the bridge. The renderings show the bridge in an array of colors at night.
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The plan is “an important art project so when people leave Broward they’re talking about how great it was,” Broward Commissioner Steve Geller said.
Considering the costs
How the county will come up with the money for the bridge artwork is still a matter of discussion. The $6 million fee includes the artist fee, installation and maintenance, and additional art sculptures.
To cover the bill, the county has set aside $2 million, which includes $1.5 million raised from the Tourist Development Tax, the “bed tax” from hotel stays by tourists. County officials said they hope to raise the remaining $4 million from donations by private businesses and cities — with incentives such as plaques or invitations to the ribbon cutting.
Commissioner Mark Bogen raised concern about the cost. “I got a problem with this, and my problem is we’re spending $6 million on lights,” he said. For that money, the county “could be doing a lot more than putting money into lights. I understand it’s important to put money into art. … But half-a-million dollars maybe, maybe $1 million. $6 million when we could be helping people in so many other ways? I just have a problem with the amount of money.”
So county officials pledged that if the donations don’t come through, they will not dip into the general fund to make up the difference. General fund money is spent on social services, libraries and parks and recreation. Where the money will come from, though, has not been decided.
Broward County isn’t the only local government wrangling with the costs of attention-grabbing lighting in recent weeks.
Fort Lauderdale leaders recently have been aiming to decide whether the city should pay millions to replace the glitzy lights adorning the Las Olas Garage at 200 E. Las Olas Circle, situated near the beach about 2 miles north of the Southeast 17th Street bridge. Replacing the garage’s lights would cost $2.1 million.
A bridge with many names
The 17th Street Bridge originally was named the Brook Memorial Causeway when it opened in 1956.
It was named after A.H. Brook, a colorful promoter around town during the Depression and World War II-era who championed the free use of the Intracoastal Waterway and coined the city’s slogan as “the Venice of America.”
But the Florida Department of Transportation renames structures after they are torn down and the bridge was reconstructed to allow taller boats to pass without raising it.
In 1998, the city requested the bridge be named after U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. because the former congressman “single-handedly” acquired $27.5 million in federal funding for it. The ribbon-cutting happened in 2002.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
