As vehicles whiz past, a pedestrian meanders on the sidewalk. Above him is a gentle pulsing cerulean light. The glow shifts in hue, from a deep blue, to teal, to an intense purple. It falls gently on a series of protruding waves, jutting out from the cement wall they rest upon.

The otherworldly glow now welcomes travelers passing underneath I-5 on Richards Boulevard. The glow, which breathes and moves along a 112 foot long section of molded concrete, is part of the installation piece 'Confluence' by City of Sacramento Senior Architect Gregory B. Taylor.

Included in the Richards to Railyards street and sidewalk improvements, the piece bathes the I-5 underpass in blue and purple tones. The effect is created by mounting energy efficient LEDs above the molded protrusions, which cast light and shadow that celebrates the familiar waves of the Sacramento and American Rivers. It is the City’s first LED colored light display in a transportation project. An actual video of a river is converted to create the effect.

The Richards to Railyards Access Project, as a whole, widened the freeway off-ramps and should improve traffic circulation at Richards Boulevard, Bercut Drive and Jibboom Street. Its completion comes as Township 9 at the River District firms up financing on a five-story, 118-unit, mixed-use housing project, and Regional Transit gets ready to open the first of two light rail stations as part of its future 13-mile Green Line. The Green Line will eventually extend light rail from the River District to the airport.

The project is funded through the Sacramento County Measure A half cent sales tax and federal transportation funds.

Video of the installation in action can be seen here:

Confluence by Gregory B. Taylor from carlos eliason on Vimeo.

For more information on the project, visit the Richards to Railyards project page.