Bay Bridge, UNSAFE?

 

On September 2, 2013, the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic. The seismic opening of the new span is more than just an upgrade of one of the country's busiest bridges--it is an epic transformation of the bridge into a global icon. Public safety has always been the driving factor behind building the new East Span of the Bay Bridge. Over the years, the project has encountered challenges that we overcame as we strives to deliver a seismically safe and resilient bridge that will withstand the next massive earthquake. Recently, government and private engineers told a state Senate commission that pressure to complete the new $6.4 billion eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge led to cracked welds and other subpar work on the crossing. James Merrill, an engineer who oversaw inspections of key bridge pieces, testified that defective seismic safety rods that failed last March were made of a corrosion-prone steel that should never have been used. They have concluded that the new span is unsafe which may lead to costly future repairs. These issues may lead to a legislative hearing.

To read more about the issues the project encountered and is current;y encountering, you can visit this site.