The new Bay Bridge

[ZLoth]

From SF Gate:

Bay Bridge contractor facing possible fines for unfinished work

With work still to be completed on the new Bay Bridge eastern span, Caltrans is threatening to fine the main contractor up to $25,000 a day for as long as the $6.4 billion project remains unfinished.

Several problems that developed after the bridge opened in September 2013 have yet to be fixed. Rust spots remain in the span's gleaming white paint, and dozens of sleeves for steel anchor rods at the tower's foundation must be filled with grout or grease after botched construction resulted in the holes flooding with rainwater.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[ZLoth]

From SF Gate:

Another problem for new Bay Bridge span: Elevator doesn't work

A $4 million elevator intended to take maintenance workers and well-connected investor-tourists to the top of the signature tower on the new Bay Bridge eastern span failed after just a few uses, and Caltrans is trying to figure who will pay the bill, The Chronicle has learned.

The primary function of the glass cab elevator – billed as unique by its manufacturer – is to take workers from the base of the 525-foot tower to the top so they can make repairs and touch up paint. But bridge officials also hoped to use it to show off 360-degree views of the Bay Area to investors who purchased bonds that helped pay for the span, even ordering larger windows surrounding the elevator to get a more expansive view.

For the past month, however, no one has gone to the top of the tower on the elevator. Its door malfunctioned Dec. 7, two days after it was put into service. That problem was fixed Dec. 23, but on Jan. 8 its drive shaft failed and the cab became stuck halfway up the tower. It has not worked since.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[hm insulators]

From SF Gate:

Another problem for new Bay Bridge span: Elevator doesn't work

A $4 million elevator intended to take maintenance workers and well-connected investor-tourists to the top of the signature tower on the new Bay Bridge eastern span failed after just a few uses, and Caltrans is trying to figure who will pay the bill, The Chronicle has learned.

The primary function of the glass cab elevator – billed as unique by its manufacturer – is to take workers from the base of the 525-foot tower to the top so they can make repairs and touch up paint. But bridge officials also hoped to use it to show off 360-degree views of the Bay Area to investors who purchased bonds that helped pay for the span, even ordering larger windows surrounding the elevator to get a more expansive view.

For the past month, however, no one has gone to the top of the tower on the elevator. Its door malfunctioned Dec. 7, two days after it was put into service. That problem was fixed Dec. 23, but on Jan. 8 its drive shaft failed and the cab became stuck halfway up the tower. It has not worked since.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

Man, what else is next?

[Bickendan]

At this point, it probably would have cost less to retrofit the old doubledecker span...

[Pete from Boston]

Can I buy some of that debt and get a ride up whenever? I have $50 that wants to know.

[kkt]

At this point, it probably would have cost less to retrofit the old doubledecker span...

Oh, absolutely.  We knew that going in.  Relying on memory, back in the 90s, Caltrans said about 1.5B to renovate the doubledecker span or $2B to rebuild.  Of course that was before the Signature Span with Signature Elevator for Political Contributors was added.

[Bickendan]

Honestly, I think the old cantilever span looked nicer...

[ZLoth]

From SF Gate:

Rust, cracks found on Bay Bridge tower rod

Tests on a steel anchor rod removed from the Bay Bridge eastern span's tower after being inadvertently submerged in water for years revealed rust and tiny cracks, bridge officials said Friday – a potentially worrisome sign for the long-term viability of the span.

The 25-foot-long rod is one of more than 400 galvanized-steel fasteners that became soaked in water because they sat in holes at the tower's foundation that were poorly grouted. They cannot be removed without being destroyed, and there is not enough room to maneuver replacement rods into position – so any evidence that the water has damaged the rods presents Caltrans with what could be an unsolvable dilemma.

"We did see some evidence of damage on the surface,"  Caltrans bridge engineer Brian Maroney said at a news conference in Oakland, where officials announced the results of preliminary tests on the removed rod.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[CtrlAltDel]

Oh, jeez.

By this point, I'm surpised the bridge hasn't been attacked by Godzilla.

[kkt]

Oh, jeez.

By this point, I'm surpised the bridge hasn't been attacked by Godzilla.

There's an idea.  Auction off the movie rights to the destruction of the New Bay Bridge.  The money raised could partially offset the cost of rebuilding it.

[Bickendan]

Pacific Rim II: Bay Bridge Boogaloo!

[bing101]

Well the East Bay Bridge should get its reality series at this point.

[bing101]

http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/bay-bridge/article12793520.html

Here we go again this is crazy.

[Desert Man]

Good luck to the new Bay Bridge, it was 25 years in the making. Someone said "Chinese" materials were used, but what if they were Japanese materials from a country well accustomed to earthquakes? I find the Bay Bridge of more importance than the scenic Golden Gate: how can drivers easily cross the bay from SF or Oakland, two of the Bay area's 3 largest cities (San Jose being the largest) to vice versa? Let's pray the Bay area won't have a similar size M7+ earthquake (not just 1989, think of the 1906 disaster) for a LONG time...or at least the Bay Bridge remains sturdy.

[707]

Good luck to the new Bay Bridge, it was 25 years in the making. Someone said "Chinese" materials were used, but what if they were Japanese materials from a country well accustomed to earthquakes? I find the Bay Bridge of more importance than the scenic Golden Gate: how can drivers easily cross the bay from SF or Oakland, two of the Bay area's 3 largest cities (San Jose being the largest) to vice versa? Let's pray the Bay area won't have a similar size M7+ earthquake (not just 1989, think of the 1906 disaster) for a LONG time...or at least the Bay Bridge remains sturdy.

If said M7+ did happen again, I wonder the effects on both spans in regards to Treasure Island.

[roadfro]

Someone said "Chinese" materials were used, but what if they were Japanese materials from a country well accustomed to earthquakes?

It's not so much the materials... Rather, the manufacturing processes were not adhered to by the foreign company, and various quality control/inspection measures with the materials were overlooked or ignored. Various costly deficiencies have been the too-common result.

Although, there have been construction problems and oversights as well...so it's not all on the material manufacturing, but I think that is the cause of the bulk of the issues.

[kkt]

Well, there's the other bridges... San Mateo and Dumbarton and San Rafael + Golden Gate.  And within a few weeks they could probably get car ferries running again.

But, yeah, serious inconvenience.

[myosh_tino]

Good luck to the new Bay Bridge, it was 25 years in the making. Someone said "Chinese" materials were used, but what if they were Japanese materials from a country well accustomed to earthquakes? I find the Bay Bridge of more importance than the scenic Golden Gate: how can drivers easily cross the bay from SF or Oakland, two of the Bay area's 3 largest cities (San Jose being the largest) to vice versa? Let's pray the Bay area won't have a similar size M7+ earthquake (not just 1989, think of the 1906 disaster) for a LONG time...or at least the Bay Bridge remains sturdy.

If said M7+ did happen again, I wonder the effects on both spans in regards to Treasure Island.

Funny you should say that.  The USGS released a new forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area where the chance of a M6.7 within the next 30 years is 72% and the chance of a M7.0 is 50-50.

http://www.mercurynews.com/News/ci_27686200/Big-Bay-Area-quake:-When-and-where-is-it-most-likely-to-happen

[NE2]

Someone said "Chinese" materials were used

What, like paper armor?

[Caboosey]

Here is aerial photo of the new Bay Bridge I took while flying over Bay area on April 13, 2015.

[hm insulators]

Beautiful pictures!

[andy3175]

The beat goes on...

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Anchor-rod-on-Bay-Bridge-may-have-snapped-6178607.php

Caltrans has uncovered evidence that one of the 25-foot-long rods that anchor the new Bay Bridge eastern span's tower may have snapped after being installed, a finding that could cast doubt on hundreds of other rods exposed to corrosion-causing water for two years before a construction defect was discovered.

Agency officials cautioned that tests are needed to determine whether the rod, which is encased in a grout-filled sleeve at the base of the tower, is indeed broken.

An ultrasonic test performed late last month indicates that the steel fastener may be as much as 6 inches shorter than the other rods, Caltrans officials say. It could have snapped at the bottom because of corrosion, or it could simply have been cut or made shorter than the other 400-plus rods at the tower's base, they say.

The answer could determine whether Caltrans must bolster the tower's anchoring system.

All 422 rods in the tower underwent an ultrasonic test to determine their viability after Caltrans discovered that many of them had sat in water because of a contractor's failure to seal and grout their sleeves properly.

One of an additional two rods that were removed earlier showed microscopic cracking, and Caltrans is conducting more tests on that fastener to determine the cause.

The rod that showed signs of being short was the only fastener that appeared to have any problems based on the ultrasonic tests, Caltrans officials said.
"The good news is that 421 passed the test," said Dan McElhinney, a Caltrans district manager. "One was short, and there was not a clear understanding of why."

[andy3175]

And more, both on the condition of the cable of the new bridge and the removal of the E-3 pier, a major section of the old span (on Nov 7, 2015)...

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/10/04/bay-bridge-designer-warns-caltrans-leaks-corrode-main-cable/

The lead designer of the Bay Bridge has warned Caltrans that the cable that holds up the new bridge's eastern span is vulnerable to corrosion because of rainwater leaking into its anchorages.

Bridge officials have been preoccupied with the possibility that rods at the base of the span's tower could be corroded by water but lead designer Marwan Nader of the T.Y. Lin International design firm in San Francisco said the bigger concern is the cable – specifically, the twin steel boxes where the cable is anchored inside the span's deck.

On the span, the cable is protected from the elements by a steel jacket. But in the anchorages on either side of the eastern end, the strands fan out and are exposed, and if water gets to them, they can corrode and fail.

The corrosion danger is very real on the $6.4 billion project, Nader told a Caltrans-convened peer review panel in July. According to minutes of the meeting, released only recently, Caltrans officials acknowledged that rainwater has been flowing into the two anchorages because of design problems with the guardrail system.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Caltrans-Gets-Final-Approval-to-Implode-Largest-Pier-of-Old-Bay-Bridge-330357261.html

Caltrans has secured the final of several permits necessary to demolish the largest pier of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge using nearly 400 small explosives, a Bay Bridge spokeswoman said Thursday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed off on the planned implosion of Pier E3 on Wednesday night and the demolition is scheduled to happen on the morning of Nov. 7, Bay Bridge spokeswoman Leah Robinson-Leach said.

The implosion is expected to last only six seconds and pull the concrete debris from the destroyed pier down into its own buried cavities. A "bubble curtain" of compressed air will contain the blast.

The Bay Bridge will need to be closed for up to 15 minutes that morning. California Highway Patrol officers will be on hand to stop traffic on the bridge and keep any boaters out of the area.

Caltrans has touted the implosion as the best solution for both the environment and the demolition project's budget. Mechanically removing the pier would take months and require building a dam around it, significantly disrupting area wildlife, according to project engineers.

If it works on Pier E3, Caltrans may seek future permits to demolish the remaining 21 smaller piers the same way. Pier E3 is the largest -- a 268-foot chunk of concrete buried 165 feet in the soft bay mud. It has already been partially dismantled in preparation for the implosion.

Caltrans has had to contend with a number of environmental concerns in planning the implosion, mainly the possible impact on area mammals like seals, sea lions and porpoises. Monitors will be keeping close watch to make sure no mammals wander into the area.

If any animals are spotted, the blast will be postponed. The timing was crucial as it was chosen to be when the fewest marine mammals would be in the area of the pier.

Environmental watchdog group Baykeeper has raised concerns about whether the bubble curtain can in fact contain the concrete debris and prevent it from polluting the bay. They have said they will be closely watching November's implosion.

Caltrans has been securing permits for months. The project required sign-off by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other agencies.

[andy3175]

Implosion of the largest pier of the old Bay Bridge occurred at 7:15 am on Saturday on 11/14/15. Video link here:

http://patch.com/california/millvalley/watch-caltrans-destroys-bay-bridge-pier-dramatic-implosion

[andy3175]

The eastern span of the Bay Bridge has many leaks plugged as a result of applying industrial-grade caulk. The San Francisco Chronicle heralded this solution as a "big win" for Caltrans in the ongoing difficulties with the new eastern span.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Big-win-for-Caltrans-Leaks-plugged-on-Bay-Bridge-6778388.php

After spending more than $1.4 million trying to plug leaks that put the cable of the Bay Bridge's new eastern span at risk of corrosion, Caltrans says it has finally hit on a fix that costs less than $100,000 – and has all but eliminated a problem that plagued the project for years.

The relatively simple solution could eliminate what the bridge's chief designer last year called a significant concern to the $6.4 billion span: leaks that could cause rust and other damage to the cable at its anchorages.

Even with rains drenching the Bay Area this month, bridge officials said, almost no water is making it into the hollow steel structures that support the eastern span's two roadways and house its cable anchorages. ...

Caltrans struggled with water leaking into the steel support structures even during construction. The problem got worse after the bridge opened in September 2013, when rainwater began to drip underneath the road decks and onto the two anchorages where strands of the cable are tied.

It quickly became clear that hundreds of holes, drilled into the deck so steel guardrails could be bolted in place, were letting the water in. That raised the possibility that corrosion could spread through a structure that is supposed to be water-free.

Just how the water was getting to the holes, however, wasn't clear. Caltrans engineers eventually blamed a change made during construction that eliminated metal plates intended to keep rainwater from pooling inside the hollow structures, and spent $1.4 million on a complicated sealant job. ...

Caltrans said the bill for the caulking will amount to less than $100,000. Brown said the sealant will have to be replaced about every seven years – a fix that will be much simpler, and cheaper, than some of the proposals that had been suggested for protecting the cable, such as re-engineering how the guardrails are anchored.

http://abc7news.com/traffic/caltrans-leaks-plugged-in-bay-bridge-eastern-span/1171530/

Caltrans has found a simple and cheap solution to eliminate leaks in the Bay Bridge's new eastern span that could cause corrosion and other damage to the cable at its anchorages, authorities announced.

Bridge officials said almost no water is making it into the hollow steel structures despite recent heavy rains thanks to industrial-grade caulk used to seal the gaps between the asphalt road surface and the guardrails, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"Everything is looking pretty good," said Dan McElhinney, the Caltrans district official in charge of the eastern span project.

Caltrans struggled with water leaking into the steel support structures during construction and the problem got worse after the bridge opened in September 2013, when rainwater began to drip underneath the road decks.

The simple solution comes after authorities spent more than $1.4 million trying to plug the leaks to keep rainwater from pooling inside the hollow structures.