These mysterious black-bagged items are in fact two of the LED architectural light fixtures that will help illuminate the 80 cable stays, undercarriage of the main span and towers of the new bridge. As you can see, this pair is mounted between the road deck and the future Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle Pedestrian Path on the south side of the bridge. Below, this photo shows the light fixtures for the other nearby cable stays on the south side, headed toward Terminal Island.
When all of the architectural lights are installed, the two towers, undercarriage of the main span and 80 cable stays could be lit in any number of colors, possibly from red and green during the holidays to red, white and blue for Independence Day. The white piping for the cable stays will enhance the reflection of the light, as will the painted-white structural steel elements of main span’s undercarriage.
The lighted bridge will be visible for miles at night, highlighting its iconic design and uniquely identifying the Long Beach skyline.
