It has been lit up pink for breast-cancer awareness, pink and red for victims of domestic violence, and blue and red in solidarity with New Zealand after a shooting rampage there.

But, while the roadway has remained lit by street lamps, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge's towers, cables and supports have been dark since Nov. 11.

That Veterans Day night, the bridge was patriotically ablaze: Its upper towers were bright blue, its tower supports were white and its approach supports were bathed in red, thanks to the twin spans' high-tech LED "dynamic lighting package."

A week later, the bridge's builders, Tappan Zee Constructors, upped the ante in its $900 million claim against the New York State Thruway Authority, seeking more documents from the transit agency in a battle over increased costs associated with the $4 billion bridge.

TROUBLE OVER BRIDGED WATER: Tappan Zee Constructors seeks additional $900 million for building Cuomo spans

LIGHT IT UP: Bridge can be lit for holidays

Whether the legal action is at the root of the bridge going dark — or the timing of the latest filing is just a coincidence — is a question for which neither party has offered an answer.

But the bridge remains dark and a spokesman for the Thruway spelled out in no uncertain terms on Thursday that the builder is to blame.

In a statement, Thruway spokesman Khurram Saeed placed responsibility squarely with the contractor.

“Tappan Zee Constructors is currently responsible for the operation, programming and maintenance of the bridge’s aesthetic lighting system," Saeed said. "TZC informed us last fall that they would begin testing the various components of the system as contractually required before they turn over the final and fully-commissioned system to the Thruway Authority.

"Like the public, we are extremely eager to see the bridge lit in color again and we are encouraging the contractor to make that happen as soon as possible,” Saeed said.

Calls and emails seeking comment from Tappan Zee Constructors — and Irving-Texas-based FLUOR, one of the major contractors in the consortium — have yielded no answers.

A question of control

The New York State Thruway Authority owns the 3.1-mile-long side-by-side spans, which replaced the Tappan Zee Bridge between Rockland and Westchester counties. But it is still a work in progress, with the Rockland-bound bridge incomplete, under the control of the contractor, Tappan Zee Constructors.

The question of control was answered, in part, last October, when the lights went dark for nearly three weeks. Asked at the time why the bridge's lights had gone dark, Thruway spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said TZC "is currently testing the system."

Within days of that comment, on Oct. 27, TZC's testing apparently complete, the bridge was lit up blue for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Then, in order, came: Veterans Day, the latest salvo in the $900-million claim, and darkness.

A sign of support

Since 2017, when the Cuomo Bridge lights were first tested and turned on, it has become a billboard of support, a literal highlight for causes, solidarity and celebration.

The system's energy-efficient LED lights can be programmed, on short notice, to shine in seemingly infinite color arrangements, hues and tones.

While there had been an established, if unpublished, schedule of lighting the bridge on national holidays and for several causes or occasions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo had gone off-script to use the bridge to express solidarity, as he did last March to honor those slain in New Zealand.

"The bridge was designed with energy-efficient LED lights to illuminate the structure and roadways and also at times to allow us to commemorate important or impactful moments by highlighting the twin-span with colors," Thruway spokeswoman Givner said last April.

She added that the Thruway planned to make public a calendar for bridge-lighting, once the bicycle-pedestrian shared-use path is open. That project was scheduled to open in the second half of 2019, but has been delayed, a new opening date not announced.

Lights all around

The Cuomo Bridge is not the only chameleon-like structure in the metro area. The spire of One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge have similar LED dynamic lighting packages. The top of the Empire State Building is routinely lit to mark holidays, causes and sports championships. The George Washington Bridge can be lit in all white, non-LED lights.

The Thruway would not provide a price tag for the cost of installing and operating the lighting system. A similar lighting system on the Kosciuszko Bridge — which is one-third the length of the Cuomo Bridge — was estimated to cost $4.5 million.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for whom the new bridge represents a major infrastructure achievement, spoke excitedly last spring about lighting bridges.

"Now this starts to get very interesting," the governor said at a press conference last year, imagining East River bridges as part of a synchronized light show. "If you can illuminate bridges, in sequence, with different colors, choreographed to music. You can imagine what you can do for a Fourth of July ceremony."

For nearly two months, though, there has been no light show on the Cuomo.

No lights for Thanksgiving.

Or Christmas.

Or New Year’s.

No lights in solidarity with the Jewish community after a man with a machete attacked a Hanukkah party in Monsey.

The only way to see the bridge lit for the holidays this year was to go to the New NY Bridge website, which posted a "Happy Holidays" card with the bridge glowing blue.

'I'm guessing it comes down to money'

Stanley Wayne, a South Nyack attorney, has a front-row seat for those "dynamic lights" — and the lack thereof — from his South Boulevard home. He even convinced the owner of the vacant lot across the street to let him trim some trees to improve his bridge view.

Wayne can be counted on to post photos to Facebook every night the bridge is illuminated. He has had a couple of months off from that labor of love.

"The thematic aspect was great, to be able to have themes for certain days, and whatnot," he said. "We loved it. It made Nyack more attractive, made Tarrytown more attractive, made the bridge more attractive."

Seeing the lights while traveling on the bridge is welcoming, said Wayne, who takes the ride across the river to and from work in Midtown Manhattan each day. But the view of the entire span illuminated — including its supports — is even more powerful.

"I feel like it affects the whole atmosphere, the whole town, to have that thing out there, a visual horizon," Wayne said. "It makes a big difference to come home to a dark bridge. It's gloomy now."

Wayne doesn't know who controls the lights, and has been trying to figure out why the light show stopped with no notice or explanation.

"I'm guessing it comes down to money, don't you think?" Wayne said. "Most decisions are based on financial considerations. This silence is weird."

On Nov. 18, Tappan Zee Constructors, which is a group of construction and design companies, filed court papers seeking documents in its bid to be paid an extra $900 million from the Thruway Authority over increased costs incurred in building the bridge.

TZC said the Thruway was blocking access to documents. The Thruway countered that TZC was merely trying to improve its negotiation position in a battle over who should foot the bill for which costs.

Lights can mean business

Meanwhile, officials in San Francisco have learned that lighting a bridge can be good for business.

In 2011, The Bay Lights, an art project collaboration of the non-profit ILLUMINATE, the California Department of Transportation and artist Leo Villareal lit up the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on its 75th anniversary.

It was so popular it became a boon to the local economy.

So many people flocked to restaurants with bridge views that analysts from major companies such as Deloitte, Google and Facebook unanimously agreed that The Bay Lights boosted the regional economy to the tune of $100 million a year.

Designed to be temporary, it was so popular, it was made permanent through a crowd-funding campaign buoyed by major donors. People can now donate to sponsor a light on behalf of a loved one, personalizing it, on www.SIF.illuminate.org.

Local chef Peter X. Kelly's restaurant on the Yonkers waterfront, X2O, has views of the Manhattan skyline and the George Washington and Cuomo bridges.

"When I look at the George Washington Bridge with its lights, it looks like a beautiful necklace draped across the river," Kelly said. "Would be nice if the Tappan Zee/Mario Cuomo kept the same aesthetic and tradition."

Contributing: Frank Esposito

Peter D. Kramer is a 32-year staffer at The Journal News. He can be reached at pkramer@lohud.com or on Twitter at @PeterKramer. Read his recent stories. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.