Since 2012, Professor Sheila de Bretteville ’64MFA has been developing a project called “Lighting Your Way” to improve the Route 34 underpass close to Union Station. The area is frequently used by pedestrians making the journey from the train station to downtown New Haven and other parts of the city.
The effort would add motion sensor spotlights under the bridge, along with widening the sidewalk, and a variety of beautifying improvements such as replacing the current piping.
The New Haven Independent reports that de Bretteville was first inspired to create the project after seeing LED displays on a trip to Hong Kong. “I fell in love with what you can do with light. When I came home, the first thing I thought of was coming down here,” she recounted.
The project only has a few more bureaucratic hurdles to overcome in its implementation, and de Bretteville hopes the installation will be completed by early 2018.
In the clip below, de Bretteville explains the project and gives a bird’s eye view of the current state of the bridge.
Professor de Bretteville teaches at the Yale School of Art and was the first women to earn tenure at the institution.