According to the arts nonprofit responsible for the Bay Lights, construction recently rews began installing tens of thousands of new LEDs along the western span of the Bay Bridge.
It was a somber day when the western span of the Bay Bridge went (mostly) dark in March 2023. Due to financial reasons, paired with the LEDs’ fussy, antiquated design that required laborious upkeep — the diodes were years old and proved particularly susceptible to the elements over time — Illuminate, the arts non-profit responsible for its installation and upkeep, shuttered the Bay Lights. (There was a small window when some of the LEDs would spontaneously glow and refuse to turn off, but that was quickly remedied after a breaker issue was fixed.)
Since then, a crowdfunding campaign and public support have made the return of SF’s Bay Lights, which was one of the largest permanent public LED displays in the country, an attainable reality. Well, starting this week, that actuality will unfold as crews begin the process of installing over 50,000 new LEDs on the bridge.
“Workers have begun installing 50,000 new custom-engineered LED lights on the Western span of the Bay Bridge,” reads an update on Instagram from Illuminate. “You can expect to see testing of the new strands starting early in the new year.”
The nonprofit uploaded a reel of images, showing crews at work and the newly designed LEDs; the installed LEDs are expected to perform far better than the ones they replace, will have lower failure rates, and will be more energy efficient.
More updates will come later, as well as news about the official launch of the updated Bay Lights installation — “please stay tuned for the date announcement.” Given how dark and grim and bleak these past few weeks have been (read: the retraumatization of a looming Trump presidency),” it’ll be nice to have something bright to look forward to early next year.
“We hope you will join us on the waterfront!”
