[Amanita]

I'm quite familiar with the constant inspections and ministrations of the painters and ironworkers on those magnificent bridges. As the Caltrans page said, the work on the western span was almost all done while the bridge was open to traffic. I would not be surprised if anything requiring closures was done at night, when fewer people would notice or be inconvenienced.
So as I said, a lot of the improvements that Caltrans talks about were of the "under the hood" variety, nothing that would alter the bridge's good looks noticably. And yes, I do think that San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is nice looking, especially her western suspension spans.