> “It’s a challenge of the current lights. They’re good but they have to exist in an area that has rain, fog, high winds, grime 24/7, vibration, expansion and contraction,” Davis said.

This has nothing to do with brightness or with the bulbs being LEDs. Their hardware is not properly suited for the environment it's being used in. If you put an Arduino in your car, don't be surprised when the non-automotive-grade electronics fail after a few years. The EEs must have not done a great job when initially designing this light project. From to the project's website (linked by your article):

> They must be replaced with a new system that is custom engineered to perform in the harsh environmental conditions of San Francisco Bay.

Maybe it's the scale, relative inaccessibility, or remote control that's the problem.

Honestly, I never loved the 'light show' effect anyway - maybe they should just light the suspender cables with normal lights and call it a day.

EDIT: For reference, here is the bridge before Baylights: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Oakland_Bay_Brid...

Other major port-cities around the world, with comparable climate conditions, have presumably transitioned to LED lighting over the past decade - why can't they save taxpayer's money by simply buying-up whatever Valencia or Singapore is using instead of having their own NIH Syndrome and insisting an entirely bespoke system just-for-them be used?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bay_Lights

Now I wonder if they will actually last.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cartier_Bridge#%22Livi...

If the lights need to last 10 years, then the mechanical & electrical engineers can make a design that will last 10 years. That's not hard to do. The reason many LEDs, especially consumer LEDs, fail early is due to excessive cost cutting.

It's okay for it to just live on in memory.