Saturday, November 30, 2013

New Bay Bridge

On September 2, 2013, the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened to traffic. It is an entirely ​different look and design.  One of the photos show​s​ the old bridge in ​the ​background.

Now that traffic has been safely rerouted on to the new East Span, the original East Span, including the cantilever and truss structures, will be demolished.

For the first time in history, pedestrians and cyclists have the chance to travel on the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. The 15.5-foot-wide bike and pedestrian path opened to the public at 12 p.m. on September 3.

The Guinness World Records has crowned the new East Span the widest bridge, with a total deck width of 258.33 feet (78.740 m), including 10 lanes of roadway, a 15.5-ft-wide (4.724-m) bike path and a gap where the central tower supports the two bridge deck sections.

The new bridge has also been honored with the title for longest self-anchored suspension span bridge in the world, with a length of 2,047 feet.

2 comments:

psng said...

I remember the extra traffic when it opened. Many wanted to get on the first few days. I have not driven across it yet. It does look better than the old span but what a journey. All the politics, design debates, cost overrun, and work delay. Defective bolts found during summer almost killed the openings. The quake was in 1989 for crying out loud.

Ho Keung and Yin Ping said...

All these problems sound so familiar, oops, typical in where we live!