The first sections of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge arrived yesterday.
Quote:
Bay Bridge: 1st eastern span sections arrive
Michael Cabanatuan
Friday, January 22, 2010
New met old early Thursday afternoon as the first steel deck pieces of the Bay Bridge's new eastern suspension span passed beneath the 73-year-old western span, ending a 22-day journey from Shanghai aboard the Zhen Hua 17. Delivery of the wing-shaped deck pieces was delayed for about 15 months by troubles with welding, drawings and other parts of the steel fabrication process. Caltrans officials say those problems, including inadequate welds, have been corrected, but the delays threaten to push the eastern span past its scheduled opening in late 2013 as well as its $6.3 billion budget. The first eight segments of bridge deck - there are 28 total - will be inspected to make sure they survived the journey, loaded aboard barges, then - in about three weeks - lifted by a huge crane barge named the Left Coast Lifter onto temporary trestles just north of the existing bridge, and slid into place over Yerba Buena Island. "It's a historic day for us," said Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney. "The first Bay Bridge steel has arrived."
|
From the San Francisco Chronicle. Check the link for a photo of them going under the western span.