Bay Lights set to return to the Bay Bridge after $11M restoration project
By CBS Bay Area
Hard work done in the dark is about to bring the famed Bay Lights back to the Bay Bridge.
Bart Ney, who has spent the majority of his 30-year career at CalTrans, has focused on one of the busiest and biggest overpasses in the world.
“I was on the team that built the new eastern span. I’ve worked on the Bay Bridge for 20 years,” Ney told CBS News Bay Area.
On one particular night, he’s happy to work the late shift to see firsthand the finishing touches on the revitalization of the Bay Bridge lights.
First introduced in 2013, the original collection of over 40,000 bulbs that lit up the structure sparked attention like never before.
“The original Bay Lights were such a hit globally. We had media from all over the world doing stories on the Bay Lights, kind of putting the Bay Bridge kind of back in everybody’s view,” he explained.
However, in 2023, the lights were shut off after years of environmental wear. That decision was made by the artist behind the project, Leo Villareal.
“There was kind of an uproar in San Francisco. People said, ‘We want this back, this has become part of my therapy,’ it has become part of the city,'” Villareal told CBS News Bay Area.
The project, privately funded, cost $11 million to replace the original installation and embark on a new chapter.
“The exciting thing for me is that the way it provokes a sense of wonder and awe,” Villareal added. “It just dazzles people and people can’t help but talk to one another.”
Ney adds that the positive feedback they’ve received since announcing the return is just another sign that this project was worth the time and effort it took to make it happen.
“There is 48,000 individual LED lights in this installation. The western spans of the Bay Bridge are two miles long. They are over 500 feet above the water at the highest points, so it’s a lot,” Ney said.
On March 20th, an official ceremony will celebrate the relighting of the Bay Bridge.
But on this night, the crews who made it happen are having a little celebration of their own.
They’ve spent countless long hours in the dark, bringing the shine back to the Bay Bridge.
