Newport Pell Bridge. (Photo credit: Jack Casey/What'sUpNewp)
The Newport Pell Bridge is currently illuminated with red, white, and blue lights in a patriotic display that will remain visible through the end of July.
What’sUpNewp photographer Jack Casey documented the lighting using drone footage last week, capturing how the illumination transforms the nighttime appearance of the bridge that connects Newport and Jamestown across the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.
Decorative Lighting Programs
The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, which operates the bridge, also maintains an extensive decorative lighting program on the Sakonnet River Bridge. That bridge’s 2025 calendar includes more than 80 scheduled lighting events for holidays, awareness campaigns, and community celebrations.
According to RITBA guidelines, lighting requests must come from community-focused, non-profit organizations. Political events, personal celebrations, and primarily private functions are excluded from consideration.
Ryan Belmore is the Publisher of WhatsUpNewp.com. An award-winning publisher, editor, and journalist, he has led our local independent online newsrooms since 2012.
Jack Casey has always loved music. Whether listening, playing solo or with friends these experiences over the decades have informed his photography. The passion to photographically preserve the pinnacle moment of a musicians’ performance is what fuels him. He has shot a diverse range of thousands of world class artists, dating back to the early 70s. Casey has photographed the Newport Festivals, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals. It’s not uncommon to see him shooting at many local theaters, clubs and performance venues.
Casey’s work has appeared on CD covers and in publications, physical and online media as well as being included by Joan Baez in the book, Musicians As Artists. After being retired for a decade from a career in social work, Casey is working on a photo-story book reflecting upon his life on the stage, backstage and in the photo pit.
