Hoan Bridge Test Lights Coming Thursday

The Light the Hoan campaign will take a major step forward this week as test lights are temporarily installed on the bridge.

“I think people are going to be amazed at how futuristic these lights look and how tech-friendly they are,” said campaign co-chair Ian Abston. Through an automated integration, the lights will flash every time the Milwaukee Bucks make a basket on November 1st against the Boston Celtics. The lights will also be visible on the evening of Friday, November 2nd.

Dutch technology company Philips will install temporary lighting on a west facing portion of the bridge this week. Philips will install a 76-foot-long section of lights along the bridge wall, as well as two 60-foot-long bands along the bridge’s iconic yellow arch.

Beyond just the Bucks game integration, the Light the Hoan group intends to showcase the color range of the lights as well as their motion capabilities.

The group, which launched a crowdfunding campaign in May, hopes to eventually install lights on the entire yellow support structure for the bridge as well as a substantial amount of the concrete wall that runs parallel to the roadway. The project is estimated to cost $5 million, and the group hopes to raise $1.5 million via crowdfunding to stoke interest among other potential donors. To date the group, led by Abston and Michael Hostad, has raised more than $300,000.

“With the Light the Hoan campaign, we’re looking to do more than just light up Milwaukee’s skyline,” said Abston when the campaign was launched. “We’re hoping to enhance the Milwaukee brand by bringing more beauty and value to Downtown, and by building a framework for collective community impact.”

The effort is modeled after bright lightings in San Francisco and Edmonton.

Built between 1970 and 1972, the Hoan Bridge is nearly two miles in length. It opened to the public in 1977, after being derided as the “Bridge to Nowhere” for five years.

A bulb dedication can be made for $25 on the Light the Hoan website. The group, a project of the Daniel Hoan Foundation, is running a social media campaign where people posting photos with the lit up bridge and #lightthehoan can win prizes contributed by the Milwaukee Bucks, including tickets to future games.

Lighting Rendering

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