Wacka Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 The Oakland-Bay Bridge (the one that had a piece fall in the 1989 quake) will be closed from 8 PM PDT today to 5 AM PDT Tuesday. This weekend, they are removing a section of the double deck by moving it to the side and moving in a new section that will divert the traffic to a temporary bridge that will allow them to build the suspension portion of the bridge. The roadway they are moving is 150 feet in the air! A smaller section was put into place two years ago, also on Labor Day weekend. That was easier because it was only 30-40 feet in the air. That work was started on a Friday night and finished by Monday at 6 PM. Here is a web site for the construction of the new bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I live a couple of blocks from the bridge. It's going to be very interesting how quiet it's going to be at night. I might actually get a good nights sleep. Also it will be neat to walk under it this weekend and walk under it while it's silent. It's amazing how noisy those thing are. T minus four minutes and counting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Ok, 13 minutes in and the bay bridge has gone silent. Only to be replaced by a multitude of news helicopters flying around covering it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 The last time it closed, in 2007, the contractor for the job was the company that fixed the Northridge damage in weeks and replaced a bridge at the McArthur Maze (at the Oakland end of the bridge)that was destroyed by a tanker fire in 3 weeks! That time it opened up 12 hours ahead of schedule. They also have to watch the winds. If they get too high, they have to suspend work. They say that they expect the winds to be low (<10 mph) this weekend. It's amazing how they thought all this out. The new bridge will be a little higher. When the new cranes for the Port of Oakland come in from China (some say George Lucas got the idea for the Imperial Walkers from them). the ship has to sit out in the bay near Alcatraz until low tide, then scoot under the existing bridge. A guy stands on the top of the crane to be sure there is clearance. He can touch the steel on the bridge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Ok, 13 minutes in and the bay bridge has gone silent. Only to be replaced by a multitude of news helicopters flying around covering it. cant stand driving over that bridge---probbly been over it 500 times now the GG bridge--luxxxury..wide lanes-u dont even know you're on a bridge.The new Benicia bridge is the same way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 cant stand driving over that bridge---probbly been over it 500 timesnow the GG bridge--luxxxury..wide lanes-u dont even know you're on a bridge.The new Benicia bridge is the same way Driving it is one thing. Sitting at Red's Java Hut having a drink and watching the boats and ships sail underneath it? Great way to kill an afternoon along with some brain cells. BTW, it was interesting last night sleeping without the white noise of the bridge. Thought it would be nice to not hear that noise. But it was replaced by the bang, bang, clang, klunk of them working on it. Here's a webcam of the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Driving it is one thing. Sitting at Red's Java Hut having a drink and watching the boats and ships sail underneath it? Great way to kill an afternoon along with some brain cells. BTW, it was interesting last night sleeping without the white noise of the bridge. Thought it would be nice to not hear that noise. But it was replaced by the bang, bang, clang, klunk of them working on it. Here's a webcam of the work. You didn't really think you were going to win in this situation did ya Chef? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 You didn't really think you were going to win in this situation did ya Chef? Well the part they're repairing is over three miles away. The banging at 4:30am sounding like it was in the next block. But I'm more interested in walking under it as it sits there silent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodBye Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Driving it is one thing. Sitting at Red's Java Hut having a drink and watching the boats and ships sail underneath it? Great way to kill an afternoon along with some brain cells. BTW, it was interesting last night sleeping without the white noise of the bridge. Thought it would be nice to not hear that noise. But it was replaced by the bang, bang, clang, klunk of them working on it. Here's a webcam of the work. I see it's a nice clear day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I see it's a nice clear day. Outside of the Smug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Outside of the Smug. I loved that episode but since I've lived here holy shiit are these people smug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I remember when they built a bridge across the river on I-94 a while back... Much smaller of course... They built it a mile down river and then floated the thing into place right near the old bridge... Pretty cool to see it shaping up. Then they closed the old bridge and opened the new... I don't think traffic was really disrupted that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I remember when they built a bridge across the river on I-94 a while back... Much smaller of course... They built it a mile down river and then floated the thing into place right near the old bridge... Pretty cool to see it shaping up. Then they closed the old bridge and opened the new... I don't think traffic was really disrupted that bad. A couple miles up the road from my parents house they were replacing a bridge over the river. I remember during the planning meetings the two options were build a temp bridge, replace the old bridge, then dismantle the temp bridge. Or build the new bridge next to the existing bridge, move/change the road, then dismantle the old bridge. Doing the temp route would cost more, take longer, and they would have to buy out some peoples homes. Which do you think they choose? If you said new bridge cheaper, faster, well, this is one time Goverment listened to the people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Driving it is one thing. Sitting at Red's Java Hut having a drink and watching the boats and ships sail underneath it? Great way to kill an afternoon along with some brain cells. BTW, it was interesting last night sleeping without the white noise of the bridge. Thought it would be nice to not hear that noise. But it was replaced by the bang, bang, clang, klunk of them working on it. Here's a webcam of the work. aaah sounds nice...I love doing nothing for an afternoon.....-esp if I have hotel lodging nearby and dont have to think about driving afterward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 aaah sounds nice...I love doing nothing for an afternoon.....-esp if I have hotel lodging nearby and dont have to think about driving afterward That's the beauty of SF. I park the car Friday afternoon and walk (or more accurately stagger) or take the train everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 That's the beauty of SF. I park the car Friday afternoon and walk (or more accurately stagger) or take the train everywhere. Very cool .... wife and I will retire to a walkable city. This is why we visit Vancouver frequently. Dallas is anything but walkable. If the heat doesn't kill you the lack of sidewalks or the idiot drivers will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 They started moving the old piece out. It looks like it hs moved about half way. Got started about 3-4 hours late. They had to stabilize the bridge so that it wouldn't move and leave a space smaller than the new piece. I also heard that they are moving the pieces on teflon rails lubricated with tons of dawn dishwashing liquid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 They started moving the old piece out. It looks like it hs moved about half way. Got started about 3-4 hours late. They had to stabilize the bridge so that it wouldn't move and leave a space smaller than the new piece. I also heard that they are moving the pieces on teflon rails lubricated with tons of dawn dishwashing liquid! Looks like they're ready to move the new piece in today but won't reopen the bridge until Tuesday morning seeing they have to let the glue dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Looks like they're ready to move the new piece in today but won't reopen the bridge until Tuesday morning seeing they have to let the glue dry. You should should see the engineering marvel they call the electric fence to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes... What a fiasco for people heading south and commerical shipping... Costs about 600 bucks own money to have your vessel guided through the barrier... All batteries have to be disconnected too... They are still doing testing... Not sure if gasoline powered water craft will explode on their own... Boy that would be a sh*tty day on the river and spoil all your fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 The new piece went in fine and they are connecting it to the bridge. While it was closed, they have been doing pothole repairs, painting, and inspections. One of the inspections found a significant crack (could be sen on TV) on a connector in another part of the bridge nowhere near the part being worked on. This might delay the planned 5AM Tuesday opening of the bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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