The long, extremely slow process of demolishing the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge continues this weekend with one more 504-foot truss section getting detached, lowered down to the water, and removed. As KRON 4 reports, it's the second of five truss spans getting removed, with the first one having been removed in February.
The truss removal will happen Saturday, and like before, it will be lowered onto a barge and taken to the Port of Oakland for dismantling and ultimately recycling. By the end of Phase 2 of the demolition, the final 14,288-foot section of roadway that connects to the Oakland shore will be removed.
For those keeping track, we're almost three years into this demolition process, which in November featured a semi-dramatic implosion of a concrete pier, which turned out not to be all that visually dramatic because it happened almost entirely underwater.
Caltrans will be seeking permits to repeat the process on the remaining 15 piers supporting the truss span, and as we learned a couple weeks ago, the next two implosions will occur this fall as part of a $130 million contract. The remaining piers will occur over the next two years, with activity always occurring in the fall because that is when it has the least environmental impact on marine life.
Previously: Get Ready For Three More Years Of Bay Bridge Implosions