Samuel De Champlain Bridge

The Samuel De Champlain Bridge is one of North America's busiest pieces of infrastructure, with over 50 million vehicles crossing each year. This cable-stayed bridge, which was newly built to replace the original Champlain Bridge, is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in North America and is one of the busiest crossings on the continent. It is built to last 125 years and has been an exciting topic for Montrealers during its inception, throughout its build, and especially now that it has become an iconic part of the cityscape. 

A significant part of turning modern architectural wonders, such as the Samuel De Champlain Bridge, into iconic emblems of their city, is through lighting and lighting design. Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design (HLB) took on the task of illuminating the Samuel De Champlain's nearly three-mile span. Working closely with the engineering team of T.Y. Lin International for over five years, HLB used Lumenpulse Lumenbeam luminaires to create a continuous dynamic ribbon of light along the bridge's entire span as well as up the inner faces of the tower. The over 5,800 Lumenpulse luminaires help provide Montrealers with a spirited symbol of their vibrant city that is both thoughtful, subtle, and impressive, providing dynamic lighting content that can celebrate or commemorate numerous types of occasions, seasons, and aesthetics.

Because the Samuel De Champlain Bridge has been designed to last for such a long span, the Lumenpulse Lumenbeam luminaires were chosen due to their similar sustainability and low-maintenance design. The Lumenbeam luminaires are made of architectural-grade materials and have lifetimes up to 370,000 hours lumen maintenance (L70 at 25 °C). To ensure their dependability, these fixtures are IP66-rated and went through vigorous factory acceptance testing before being installed. The structural vibrations facing the bridge are substantial, and that is why Lumenbeam luminaires meet the 3G ANSI C136.31 vibration standard for bridge applications.

 "One of the main concerns during this project," said Kenneth Douglas, Principal at HLB, "was we wanted to make sure as much of the light as possible stayed on the structure and didn't spill into the sky or surroundings, including the eyes of motorists." "We did several extensive light pollution studies," said Elizabeth Johnson, Senior Associate at HLB. "We ended up with the perfect balance of light on the structure, lessening the environmental impact. Part of what helped us achieve this balance was using the Lumenpulse Linear Spread Lenses on the inner face of the tower." Johnson added, "We worked directly with the Lumenpulse team, both onsite and during mock-ups, to make sure light stayed where it needed to be."

 One aspect that has made Lumenpulse luminaires so symbiotic with infrastructure projects over the years is that every luminaire comes with a team of experts behind it. Throughout the Samuel De Champlain Bridge project, Lumenpulse provided the personalized, onsite expertise for mock-ups, commissioning, and project management. Lumenpulse Field Service Technicians worked directly onsite with the electrical contractors, system users, and the system maintenance team to provide a pre-wire visit, onsite commissioning, onsite programming, and system training.

 The over 5,800 Lumenpulse luminaires grouped with HLB's lighting design have created a dependable and dynamic lighting strategy that is ready to weather the long run while keeping the environmental impact to a minimum. Lumenpulse's expertise was there when it counted most, both behind the scenes and long after the fixtures have been installed.