Long Stuck in Obscurity, Bay Bridge Will Go From Drab Gray to Glowing

[cpzilliacus]

N.Y. Times: Long Stuck in Obscurity, Bay Bridge Will Go From Drab Gray to Glowing

For decades the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has been considered, when it is considered at all, as a headache for commuters and a place not to be in an earthquake.

But that reputation is set to change Tuesday night when the artist Leo Villareal will switch on what is being billed as the world's largest L.E.D. light sculpture. The public art installation, "The Bay Lights,"  will illuminate the bridge's 1.8-mile western span with 25,000 undulating white lights.

[Click URL above for a video showing the bridge and its lights]

[djsinco]

That will look really cool when the next 8.0+ hits!

[kphoger]

Yeah, I was wondering how some fancy lights would diminish its reputation as a place not to be in an earthquake.  I mean, it's not even in the Valley! 

[cpzilliacus]

That will look really cool when the next 8.0+ hits!

I have read that the "old" part of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (the suspension part) was engineered to be pretty quake-resistant from the start.  Not so with the cantilever span part between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland, which is why it is being replaced.

[djsinco]

I have seen bridges and buildings undergoing the renovation work to be "earthquake-proof," and I guess if a big one hits close enough, all bets are off...

[triplemultiplex]

I guess if when a big one hits close enough, all bets are off...

Fixed it for you.


Beautiful.  I wouldn't be surprised if there's a push to make it a permanent feature of the west span.

One could use that system to spell out messages.  That could be awesome and/or hilarious.

[djsinco]

TY for the FTFY!

[brownpelican]

Those lights look awesome!

[agentsteel53]

had the chance to drive up this previous weekend and take a look

it's tough to capture its motion in a long-exposure photo, but here it is all lit up.



couple more photos here:
https://www.aaroads.com/blog/2013/03/11/san-francisco/

[andy3175]

Great picture, Jake! Looks terrific.

Regards,
Andy