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Interstate lights giving off unusual glow in New Orleans East

It turns out, street lights turning purple, isn’t just a New Orleans thing.

NEW ORLEANS — When you drive through parts of New Orleans East at night, it’s hard to miss the purple glow.

“I think it fits New Orleans,” Ariadni Gonzalez said. “I like that we’re different.”

After years of driving in the dark, Ariadni Gonzalez says she was happy when the city finally replaced the street lights along the interstate.

“I think it’s pretty,” Gonzales said.

When she saw that some of the street lights were purple, she like many of us, wondered why?

A quick Google search will show people in cities all over the country are asking the same question. It turns out, street lights turning purple, isn’t just a New Orleans thing.

“We can't officially create a white LED,” Electrical Engineer Kim Jovanovich said. “We have to do some special things to create a white LED, because white by itself, isn't a color. It's a collection of colors.”

Even though most LED street lights appear to be white or yellow, Electrical Engineer Kim Jovanovich says it is actually a blueish or purple light covered with a capsule that makes it appear yellow. If that capsule breaks, the light appears purple.

“So I think there's a technical problem with the material construction of the light,” Jovanovich said.

We weren’t able to get in touch with anyone from the city, so there could be another explanation.

As for Ariadni, she says she doesn’t need one.

“We have a lot of different festivals. People come to New Orleans for a good time and culture so it matches us,” Gonzalez said.

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