Omaha's damaged "String of Pearls" lights along Abbott Drive will be repaired by April — in time for Omaha's annual Berkshire Hathaway stockholder extravaganza.
City officials outlined a timetable for completing repairs nearly six months after a severe hailstorm pummeled the Omaha metro area on Aug. 18 and ruined approximately 276 fixtures along the 700-light chain.
The Peter Kiewit Foundation originally funded the $8.8 million project to install the lights and to plant hundreds of trees along Abbott Drive. Largely completed in 2003, the project was intended to spruce up the city's primary gateway to and from Eppley Airfield.
The damaged fixtures will be replaced with energy-saving LED bulbs — a change that officials say could save up to $150,000 in annual energy costs. The city hopes to replace all the string's bulbs with LED technology within five years.
"I can't think of a better way to set an example for the rest of the nation than by greeting travelers with a beautiful row of efficient, LED bulbs," said Mayor Jim Suttle during a press conference Tuesday on the repairs.
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