Results tagged “bay_bridge”

The temporary repair made to the cracked eyebar on the Bay Bridge, according to KTVU, "remains problematic and will likely require that Caltrans to shut down the entire span again sometime in the near future." And that closure? Could come before the Christmas season.

UC Berkeley structural engineer professor Abolhassan Astaneh has some urgent words for the Bay Area. Specifically, he's calling for the shut down of the Bay Bridge. Now. Soon. Just do it, he says. Ever since the new S-curve opened, the Bay Bridge has seen numerous accidents, including yesterday's big rig fatality. And a UCB smartypants is demanding the bridge's closure.

A big rig driver lost control of his truck at 3:30 a.m. this morning while negotiating the infamous S-curve on the Bay Bridge. The vehicle plunged 200 feet onto Yerba Buena Island, killing the driver. The far right lane was reopened at 7:45 a.m., but CHP expects residual delays. The driver, who was transporting pears, was going ten miles over the speed limit, and investigators suspect the truck's cargo might have shifted, helping to cause the crash. The bridge did not experience any structural damage from the crash.

Without giving an estimated time as to when it will reopen, officials said today that the Bay Bridge will remain closed for Monday's morning commute.

This couldn't come at a better time, and leave it to a snapped eastern span Bay Bridge cable to make us find this: Baynewser reported just two weeks back about a joint venture between McSweeney's and the Public Press to examine (in old school investigative journalist style) and report on the whole Bay Bridge fiasco. The project to build a new eastern span is 6 BILLION DOLLARS over budget and already ABOUT A DECADE LATE, and honestly, today's event should be enough to make everyone who uses this bridge majorly fucking furious. It wasn't even an earthquake and that wasn't even a suspension span!

CalTrans has apparently been taken by surprise by how difficult Bay Area commuters (and Safeway delivery trucks) are finding it to navigate that new S-curve on the Bay Bridge. Following on that unfortunate grocery spillage last week, and following on 20 total accidents since the S-curve was added on Labor Day, they're committing to putting up big new signs that emphasize the slowing from 50 m.p.h. to 40 m.p.h. We ourselves have driven over it several times and had no trouble, but certainly no one wants to be driving defensively while going 50 m.p.h. around a curve. So for god's sake people, slow down! Oakand's not going anywhere!

As many in the local news/blog firmament will be repeating this week, Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which was not such a doozy of a quake in the grand scheme (a 6.9er) but was certainly big enough to be imprinted on everyone's memory and to put some much-needed infrastructure improvements into the pipeline. But what of those infrastructure improvements, twenty years hence?

For those of you killing time waiting to see if the Bay Bridge reopens on schedule, why not spend ten minutes watching this charming film, "The March of Progress," about the engineering marvel of the Key Route trains that once traveled back and forth on the lower deck of the bridge. The Key System served the East Bay from 1903 to 1960, and provided transbay service from the time of the bridge's construction in 1936 until 1958 when the lower deck was opened up to eastbound auto traffic.

After an inspector discovered a crack in the eastern span of the Bay Bridge over the weekend, crews plan to hysterically work overnight in an effort to reopen the Bay Bridge on Tuesday morning during the early AM commute. According to CBS 5, "the damaged link — part of a network of eight similar pieces — is about 2 inches thick and was cracked halfway through." And, at a news conference on the Bay Bridge this morning, reports SF Appeal, California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney said, "It is a monumental challenge to make it by 5 a.m." Which means Ney is saying that the bridge will be closed tomorrow, or he's positioning the workers to lauded as heroes if it opens at the scheduled 5 a.m. time. Either way, we'll let you know what the plans it when it's officially announced. But still, you should probably plan on finding another way across the bay for tomorrow morning.

    

While the bridge has been shutdown over the Labor Day Weekend, they've been publishing images of their work in progress, using high-resolution photos. Much to our delight. Otherwise, one would never have spotted this totally awesome bit of graffiti, presumably scribbled on the on the side of the structure by Bay Bridge workers.

Captin_nod put together this mesmerizing video featuring time-lapse photography of yesterday's ongoing Bay Bridge construction and the rising of last night's very lovely full moon.

Spectacular, isn't it?

As Labor Day Weekend creeps to a dramatic opener, getting over the Bay Bridge will come to a halt in, oh, less than six hours from now.

Starting Thursday at 8 p.m., the Bay Bridge will close down until Tuesday at 5 a.m. The cost? Well, according to KCBS, it's a lot "It's about $100,000 per day in cost for the additional BART service," John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority tells KCBS. Also, the Bay Bridge will lose somewhere around $1.8 million in toll revenues, which will be slightly offset by increases on the other bridges. Is it worth it? Yes. What with SFist headquarters located next to the bridge, it will provide your editor with a few hours more of much-needed beauty rest. Also yes, the Seismic Safety Project will bring the structure up to earthquake safety standards. Read more about the closure here.

In a move that screams "BART slumber party, everybody!," the Bay Area Rapid Transit system will be open for business all night during the Labor Day Weekend, during most of the time the Bay Bridge closes down.