Tag Archives: Bay Bridge
New Bay Bridge span: 2 minutes, 3 years of building
After 11 years of construction, and 23 years after the Loma Prieta earthquake took part of it out, the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge is nearly done. Caltrans plans to open the bridge to traffic this September. While we wait for the opening, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has released a fascinating 2-minute timelapse video of construction since 2009, put together from EarthCam‘s webcam footage. It makes it look so easy.
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Lightning strikes Bay Bridge in midst of dramatic storm
Last night’s impressive thunderstorm has created rivers of rainwater flowing down many Berkeley streets and flooded backyards. The lightning that accompanied the deluge also made for some stunning photographs. The image above is one of several shot by ABC Bay Area News. Phil McGrew also captured the moment the bridge was struck in a photo circulating on Twitter.
Over on SFist, a photo gallery includes a remarkable one of the Golden Gate Bridge being struck.
Some airplanes coming into Bay Area airports took their time landing in the storm last night, and a United Airlines flight which took off at 7:40pm headed for London was forced to dump fuel and make an emergency return to SFO after the plane was struck by lightning.
There were no reports of power disruptions in Berkeley, although some areas, including Concord, did see outages after lines came down. … Continue reading »
View from the water: New span of Bay Bridge takes shape
Short of a stroll on the structure itself, the best way to get up close to the new east span of the Bay Bridge is to take to the water. Berkeleyside recently joined a boat tour organized by the American Institute of Architects to get a unique view of the construction progress to date.
The tour was led by Donald MacDonald, principal at Donald MacDonald Architects, who provided design services for the new bridge, working with New York bridge engineering firm Weidlinger Associates; Jeffrey Heller, principal at architects Heller Manus; and Jordona Jackson of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Projects. Some information on the project can be found in the captions to the photos shown here. For updated news on the Bay Bridge, including construction cams, visit BayBridgeInfo.org.
Sneak peek: up close on the new Bay Bridge span
Berkeleysider Robert Trachtenberg was lucky enough to be invited recently to join a special field trip with one of the engineers for the new span of the Bay Bridge. He shared his photographs with Berkeleyside…
Don’t drive to San Franciso this morning
Westbound traffic into San Francisco has come to a screeching halt this morning as police try and talk down an armed man who said he was holding his family hostage inside his SUV.
The man called emergency dispatchers around 7:10 am and told them he had a pipe bomb in his car, according to the Contra Costa Times. He said his family was inside the car. The man then pulled his SUV over west of Treasure Island, got out, … Continue reading »
Should casual carpoolers pay for new Bay Bridge toll?
For dozens of years, there has been an informal code of conduct for casual carpooling: A driver stops, picks up two people — one who sits in the front, the other in the back — and drives across the Bay Bridge. Usually, the radio is turned to an NPR station.
But today’s advent of a $2.50 charge for carpools is going to upset all the old rules. Will drivers ask for money for the toll? Will passengers be … Continue reading »
When the bridge is out, what about the ferry?
With no Bay Bridge, wouldn’t it be nice to have a ferry from Berkeley into the city?
That’s always been my thought, but I’m being persuaded otherwise by David Fielder, a friend who is one of the most visible opponents of the planned Berkeley Marina ferry service. Certainly when you begin to look at the Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s plan, it’s hard to make the numbers add up. The cost of the plan is $57 … Continue reading »
Bay Bridge Update: Thursday Earliest for Reopen
The earliest the Bay Bridge will reopen is tomorrow, Thursday, and it could be several days after that, according to Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney who spoke to Kron4.
Read the full report here.
[Photo: farm1.static.flickr.com]
Bay Bridge closing down after cable snap
The Bay Bridge is being closed down after cables on the upper deck fell and hit three cars earlier this evening causing major traffic headaches to commuters heading westwards from the East Bay.
A photo of the incident was captured by larfo and posted to Twitter (above).
Kron4 has video and is reporting that the strand that came loose was from the eyebar on which emergency work was conducted over the Labor Day weekend.
Update 8:35pm BART … Continue reading »
