Bay Bridge's Eastern Span to Be Built with Simpler Skyway Design

By Paul Napolitano

The replacement of the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be completed with a skyway design that is expected to cost several hundred million dollars less than the original design for a self-anchored suspension span.

The decision for a skyway design was announced Dec. 10 at a press conference in San Francisco by Sunne Wright McPeak, California secretary of business, transportation and housing agency.

"Based on all of the information we've had, all of the review by experts, all of the independent analysis by the team convened by the Federal Highway Administration, Gov. (Arnold) Schwarzenegger and I are proposing that we complete the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge with a skyway design for that main span," said McPeak, who was accompanied by Caltrans Director Will Kempton.

The 1.1-mi. self-anchored suspension span was originally favored because its majestic design would be make a signature statement for the Bay Area. The cost, however, doubled over the past few years due to the sharp rise in steel costs, insurance and financing.

A skyway, or viaduct, design is an elevated, roadway supported by piers. The self-anchored suspension bridge design had a series of steel cables elegantly draped from a towering mast-like column.

State officials convened an independent review panel to study alternative designs for the eastern span after Caltrans and the governor rejected the lone bid of $1.4 billion received on Sept. 30.

The panel presented its recommendations at the end of November to Kempton, McPeak and Schwarzenegger.

"We will be working very hard to compress the time frame that will be required for re-design," McPeak said. "We are going to examine in the next few weeks all of the innovations that are needed to get on board the firms that are needed to complete the new design [and] we will need some innovation in procurement.

"We also very confident that this bridge can be completed for, we estimate, at least $300 million to $400 million less and in the same time fame that is currently suggested optimistically for completion of the self-anchored suspension design."

McPeak said the target date for completion of the eastern span is 2012.

The new skyway will be linked to a 1.1-mi. skyway, or viaduct, already under construction. The eastern span, which was damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, is a 2.18-mi.-long combination of structures that include the skyway spans, an Oakland touchdown (the transition between elevated skyway and at-grade roadway) and Yerba Buena transition structures.

Construction to Begin Next Month on New Terminal Island Interchange

The Port of Long Beach has named Irvine-based Ortiz Enterprises Inc. as the prime contractor for a roadway construction project that will ease traffic congestion along Ocean Boulevard on Terminal Island.

Ortiz is set to begin major construction on the $34 million project in January, with completion scheduled for February 2007.

When completed, motorists using Ocean Boulevard will be able to travel non-stop east and west on a new elevated roadway over the intersections with the Terminal Island Freeway and Henry Ford Avenue. Currently, traffic signals at these intersections cause congestion.

New on- and off-ramps will provide access to and from Ocean Boulevard and the Terminal Island Freeway and Henry Ford Avenue. A future project by the Port of Los Angeles will remove a final traffic signal at the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Navy Way, which will make Ocean Boulevard a freeway-like throughway between the Gerald Desmond and Vincent Thomas bridges.

The Port of Long Beach has been preparing the construction route for the past 18 months and Ortiz will begin construction of a detour road parallel to Ocean Boulevard during the first six to eight months of the project. This detour road, which will maintain the same capacity as the current Ocean Boulevard route, will allow construction on the main route to proceed with minimal impacts on daily traffic.

The Port has designed extensive traffic control and management measures into the project and most work requiring lane closures will be conducted between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. A few weekend closures will be required during the construction, but detours and alternate routes will be widely publicized in advance. Despite these plans, occasional delays can be expected during construction.

Holes for Support Structures to Be Drilled in Boyle Heights for Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension

Construction crews in Boyle Heights will begin drilling holes 60 to 70-ft. deep Dec. 13 in preparation for excavation and tunneling for the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension light rail line starting.

The work will take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, on the south side of First Street between Bodie and Boyle streets and will continue for six weeks.

Weekend work will be necessary on the north side of First Street. Traffic on First Street will be impacted with limited lane closures and some intersections may be closed during the construction period.

Workers will use augers to drill holes and extract dirt. Concrete will be poured and I-beams installed to support future excavation work on the alignment.