New Bay Lights art piece illuminates Bay Bridge

SAN FRANCICSO (KGO) -- Starting Tuesday night, Bay Area residents and visitors will have the chance to see the Bay Bridge in a whole new light  or 25,000 of them to be exact. The Bay Lights is the world's largest LED light sculpture and after months of testing, the grand lighting is finally here.

"Well it's incredibly inspiring; the beauty of the interaction of the bay and the water is inspiring to me," artist Leo Villareal said.

In San Francisco, at least, Villareal is about to become a household name. And while you may have seen some of his previous works, this one is bound to go viral.

The 25,000 LED lights are placed on 300 of the span's vertical cables. But don't worry, drivers crossing the bridge won't be able to see the display unless they look in the rear-view mirror.

Restaurants and bars along the Embarcadero were filled with people Tuesday evening ahead of the official unveiling.

Private donations paid for the $8 million illuminated artwork that will be on display from dusk until 2 a.m. for the next two years.

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construction, bay bridge, caltrans, art, bay area traffic, wayne freedman

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