Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, above and below

Five Alaska bridges are getting new lights, the kind that tell pilots how tall the structure is and the kind that tell boat captains where the channel runs beneath it.

The work covers bridges in Juneau, Sitka, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor and Kotzebue. Aviation obstruction lighting marks a structure's height for aircraft. Marine navigation lighting marks the passage underneath for vessels.

The whole thing costs $170,000, with the Federal Highway Administration covering $154,649 and the state paying the rest. It is due by the end of the year.

Project engineer Kirk Miller called it "a statewide bridge navigational light improvements project, kind of a small project at various locations" at the transportation department's June update. He said the advertising date for design work had slipped from August to September. September starts Tuesday.

The department drew a second federal bridge award this month, $126,917 with $31,729 in state money, to research computer-vision tools for bridge inspectors. It is also due Dec. 31.