BAKOWSKI BRIDGE OF LIGHTS – Well tonight is a big night for downtown Shreveport as the massive steel Long-Allen bridge that spans the Red River joining Shreveport with Bossier will be lit up in what organizers promise will be a dazzling array of lights. Back in 1993, the bridge had been lit with Neon and became a focal landmark for years until the neon tubing fell into a state of disrepair.
But thanks to the generous financial support of local Optometrist Dr. George Bakowski, the Texas Street bridge will be lit up in LED technology. Representative Cedric Glover of the 4th District in NW Louisiana took a moment during the Legislative Session last week to make this announcement.
"On behalf of the entirety of Northwest Louisiana, Shreveport and Bossier, and the surrounding area, to give a great, great thanks and appreciation to Doctor George Bakowski, his wonderful wife Sandra, the team at the Shreveport Arts Council, the city of Shreveport, the city of Bossier, the Red River Water Commission, the Port of Caddo-Bossier, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. All the folks who were a part of the effort to help us once again to have that iconic bridge be lit and have it join our committees and be an illustration of the bright things that are going on in Shreveport-Bossier and Northwest Louisiana," Glover said.
The bridge will be relit in a special ceremony taking place tonight. There are also a number of weddings scheduled to take place similar to what happened back in the 1990s when the “Neon Bridge” was officially inaugurated.
