Agency in red, a landmark goes black

Since it opened in 2002, the electric blue lights on the towering bridge have been nearly as identifiable with Boston as the Eiffel Tower is with Paris, appearing on television backdrops and even gracing the Turnpike Authority's home page.

Bruce Springsteen played "Thunder Road" at the dedication of the bridge, as 2,000 people marveled at the melding of modern engineering and aesthetics.

But the $15 billion Big Dig project, which created the span, has left the Turnpike Authority billions of dollars in debt. Alan LeBovidge, the authority's executive director, said he decided earlier this week to shut off the decorative lights at night to save about $5,000 per month.

Safety-related lighting, including lights to keep aircraft from crashing into the bridge, will remain on.

"Anything's symbolic if you want, but I think it's money," LeBovidge said. "If it didn't save me money, I wouldn't do it."

Last night, with the bridge lit only by its safety lights and the glow of nearby streetlights, many who often walk by said they were surprised when they looked up to see the span dark. Interstate 93 was visible, but the scene wasn't the same.

"It's not going to look good on a postcard," said Matt Wicker, a 36-year-old who was walking home to Charlestown when he realized the lights were out. Lighting was there, but the lack of the purple features took away from the scene, he said.

Jim Duane, 57, said he and his wife walked the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge before it officially opened in May 2002, and although he assumes he'll have to deal with the loss of the features, "I thought it was very attractive," he said.

"I'm going to miss it."

And Kimberly Young, 19, of Mansfield, will have to find a new class project. The Northeastern University student had been taking pictures of the bridge as a class assignment, but returned there last night to find the only illumination being emitted from the street lights.

"I was walking up, wondering . . . it didn't look blue," she said. "I liked how it looked at night, with the lights."

Leonard Zakim, director of the Anti-Defamation League of New England, was a motivating force in bringing diverse communities of Boston together.

Zakim's widow, Joyce, said she did not have a strong reaction to the authority's decision.

"Let them do what they need to do," she said. "I love the lights, but I really don't have a comment."

LeBovidge said he did not know how long the bridge will stay dark. It will depend, he said, on whether the authority can plug its deficit. LeBovidge said he is considering similar cost-saving measures, including turning off every fourth light in the Tip O'Neill Tunnel.

"I've got to make it through [paying the authority's bills] here and it's like crawling over broken glass," LeBovidge said.

Board member Mary Z. Connaughton, who has often pleaded with the authority to find alternatives to toll increases, said LeBovidge should look elsewhere for savings.

"The cost in terms of public spirit far outweighs the $5,000 saved each month, and I would call on the director to reverse this course," Connaughton said. "It's not a meaningful reform."

Others were more philosophical, given the dour economic times.

"We're viewing this as a temporary solution to a significant but not interminable problem," said Erin Murphy, a spokeswoman for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, who hopes the bridge will soon glow again but likened the decision to the steps many businesses and families are taking now to shore up their finances. "It's a time to hunker down and make smart decisions."

The turnpike board voted last month to delay a toll hike while it awaits action from the state Legislature on Governor Deval Patrick's plan to raise the gas tax by 19 cents per gallon to help fix the state's transportation system. Some of that money would be used to bail out the Turnpike Authority.

Meanwhile, the House voted this week to eliminate the Turnpike Authority, following a similar vote by the Senate. If Patrick signs a final version of the bill, the bridge will be somebody else's problem.

Eric Moskowitz of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Jenna Nierstedt contributed to this report. Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.