As the Bay Bridge Report by the Public Press and McSweeney’s hits the streets today, the San Francisco Chronicle is running a front-page story on a new fix for the old east span of the bridge. During Labor Day weekend repairs, Caltrans found a cracked eyebar on the eastern span.
The agency did a temporary repair, parts of which then fell into rush-hour traffic on Oct. 27, a day of strong winds, resulting in a bridge closure of several days. This time the bridge will not close completely, but according to the Chronicle several lanes will be closed late at night and in early morning hours as crews replace the cracked eyebeam with a “hairpin” shaped plate structure and brackets to redistribute the tension. The cost of the unforeseen fix will come from bridge toll revenue.
Today’s Public Press/McSweeney’s report appears in an eight-page section in a one-time publication called the San Francisco Panorama. The project, by a team including structural-engineer-turned-journalist Patricia Decker and award-winning journalist Robert Porterfield, details massive cost overruns that have taken place with little public oversight. The report comes amid numerous concerns over the project’s safety and delays.
The new “S-curve” section, a construction detour at Treasure Island, has seen more than 60 accidents since Caltrans shifted traffic to it on Labor Day weekend, with one fatality. In the last half of November, according to KCBS, there were fewer than six accidents, which is likely due to more eye-grabbing signage for the slower speed limit in that section.
This morning, SF Citizen reports that the Bay Area Toll Authority will be raising tolls on all Bay Area bridges (except the Golden Gate Bridge) in July 2010. The revenue would be for seismic upgrades to the Dumbarton and Antioch bridges, to cover the increased cost of borrowing in these economic times, and to make up for a decline in toll-paying traffic over the last few years.
For those seeking an alternative to higher tolls, increased bridge closures and shaky repairs, the Examiner reported this morning that a water taxi plan could be implemented as soon as next year. On Monday, the Chronicle described plans for a new ferry terminal in Berkeley.
San Francisco street sales of Panorama, which were to begin at 7:30 a.m., were delayed until after 11 a.m., due in part to Bay Bridge traffic holding up the delivery truck.
