Bay Bridge Closure

(Bay Bridge, from Pier 14, San Francisco, Sept. 09)


Last Thursday night, the Bay Bridge was closed to traffic so that a new section of bridge about the size of a football field could be inserted (everything you want to know about Bay Bridge overhaul is here from graphics and videos of the overhaul, to photo galleries, including photographs and drawings of the original construction in 1933.

Bay Area commuters took the closure of the Bridge pretty well. A large number managed to telecommute while many others simply took the day off and enjoyed an extended Labor Day week-end. Those of us whose requests to telecommute were denied (the temptation to insert a very snide comment here is very strong, here, but OK let's not) and had to commute to work anyway, enjoyed the quieter streets and cleaner air for a day.

(Looking at the closed Bay Bridge, Pier 14, San Francisco, Sept. 09)

There were many pedestrians around Pier 14, where these photographs were taken, towards the end of the afternoon.

To say that the bridge was completely traffic-free would be a lie, since we could clearly observe buses, trucks and other vehicles on the upper deck. There was also at least one helicopter hovering above Treasure Island for the best part of the afternoon, as far as I could tell. Clearly, this is a huge project that demands a lot of manpower and a lot of resources.

At the time of this posting, we still don't know if the 73 year old Bay Bridge will reopen by Tuesday morning as originally planned, due to a crack found during inspection over the week-end. Personally, I don't care if they take all week to finish the project. I just wish these men and women all the best to complete a project that must be incredibly difficult and demanding.

Additional information about the bridge here and of course, there is always Wiki.


Aerial photograph from the San Francisco Chronicle:
(additional photos of the crews hard-at work here)