Another Try to Bridge Ribbon Problem Set

If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.

That is the approach that the group of people trying to hang an enormous yellow bow on the Coronado Bridge is taking.

After two unsuccessful attempts, the most recent Tuesday morning, organizers have tentatively scheduled the next attempt for 9 a.m. Friday, said the bow’s designer and manufacturer, Robert Crowe, of Flag Masters in Chula Vista.

The biggest obstacle to hanging the massive nylon ribbon, apart from the winds at the top of the bridge, is that a light pole and its electrical box are situated in the middle of the bridge where the bow is going to be placed, making it difficult to maneuver the yards of fabric around them, Crowe said.

“After working with it (the bow) for two to three hours, we stopped,” Crowe said. “Everybody on the crew was real disappointed.”

During Tuesday’s attempt, the bow became tangled, causing some minor tears that were being repaired Wednesday. But overall, the decoration is still in good condition, Crowe said.

The next plan of action is to cut the bow into four parts in order to facilitate attaching it to the bridge while keeping it untangled, Crowe said.

The plan also calls for a trial run to see if the system will work.

“We are going to unfold it like a stage curtain with rings so that it will slide down,” Crowe said.

Using one of the bow’s tails, which measures 115 feet long by 20 to 25 feet at the widest point, the strip of fabric will be unfurled either from the top of a construction site or from the top of a crane, Crowe said.