New Bay Bridge shows signs of rust in critical areas
By Charles Piller cpiller@sacbee.com Saturday, Apr. 12, 2014
Some of the most vulnerable and integral cable sections and rods on the new $6.5 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge are rusting.
The bridge suspension span and iconic tower rely on an unusual design: A single cable, comprising 137 steel strands, loops over the tower and under the bridge to hold it up. That cable is secured on the eastern edge of the span, inside chambers designed to keep out water and marine air to prevent corrosion.
But a Sacramento Bee investigation found that inside one of the chambers, where the suspension cable is attached, the cable strands and rods show rust. Lab tests confirm the rust, alarming independent engineering experts who warn of severe long-term implications. They urge the California Department of Transportation to move quickly to fix the problem...
...“The implications are structural – and very serious,” said Astaneh, referring to the lifespan of the bridge.“This bridge is fracture critical, which means if any important element of this bridge fails ... the bridge is going to collapse.” snip
more: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/12/6319522/new-bay-bridge-shows-signs-of.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
And how did that happen?
Not everything is a (R) vs (D) thing. The fact that the US cannot build all of its own bridges is shameful. Disgraceful.
Bridge Comes to San Francisco With a Made-in-China Label
By DAVID BARBOZA NY Times Published: June 25, 2011
Workers at Shanghai Zhenhua finish the welding on a section of the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
SHANGHAI — Talk about outsourcing
At a sprawling manufacturing complex here, hundreds of Chinese laborers are now completing work on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Next month, the last four of more than two dozen giant steel modules — each with a roadbed segment about half the size of a football field — will be loaded onto a huge ship and transported 6,500 miles to Oakland. There, they will be assembled to fit into the eastern span of the new Bay Bridge.
The project is part of China’s continual move up the global economic value chain — from cheap toys to Apple iPads to commercial jetliners — as it aims to become the world’s civil engineer.
The assembly work in California, and the pouring of the concrete road surface, will be done by Americans. But construction of the bridge decks and the materials that went into them are a Made in China affair. California officials say the state saved hundreds of millions of dollars by turning to China.... snip
more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/business/global/26bridge.html?pagewanted=all
California Turns To China For New Bay Bridge
by Richard Gonzales NPR September 16, 2011
The cable is made up of 137 strands of steel.
"We will pull those strands across the bay to make this cable," says Ney. "And we keep doing that until we have all of them in place, and then we can start hanging up the suspender wires that hold up the deck."
This assembly will be performed early next year by American labor. But the massive cable, key sections of the iconic tower and deck were all made in China, which is emerging as an infrastructure powerhouse in more places than San Francisco. For example, Chinese companies have contracted with New York City for a bridge, the subway system and a commuter train platform.
The decision to outsource the fabrication of key sections of the Bay Bridge was made about five years ago, when a contractor offered alternate bids on the project, says Tony Anziano, a manager at the California Department of Transportation...
more: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/16/140515737/california-turns-to-china-for-new-bay-bridge
While partisans sit around blaming each other for the loss of a manufacturing base (hello Clinton) guess what:
The Manufacturing Base was SOLD OUT from under them.
And there's currently NO EFFORT or even lip service to get it back.
For shame.
How fucked-up is that?
IDIOTS!
