Bay Bridge Construction Called a Shot in the Arm

Caltrans Director Jeff Morales joined a handful of other construction industry leaders and members of the media recently to tour the construction site of the new east span of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge.

The officials examined the progress on the $2.9 billion project that is under construction by the joint venture team of Kiewit, FCI and Manson Construction (also known as KFM Joint Ventures).

Morales said that the construction not only will create one of the safest spans in the world, but the project is a major boon to the local economy.

“It will create financial ripples across the area by supporting more than 67,000 jobs —just when California most needs a shot in the arm,” he said. Construction on the Bay Bridge East Span project began early last year and is scheduled to open in 2007.

The largest single public-works project in state history, the construction phase employs some of the largest and heaviest components ever seen in bridge building. The main cable is 4,595-ft. long and consists of 17,400 strands of steel. Its single-tower, self-anchored suspension span will require 67,000 tons of steel. The skyway will be supported on 160 piles, driven some 300 ft. into the muddy bottom of the bay by the largest and third largest cranes on the West Coast.

KFM Joint Ventures is fabricating 452 concrete box segments in Stockton, to be shipped to the site by barge, where they will make up the skyway portion of the new bridge. Each segment is about three-stories tall and weighs 770 tons.

“We are using innovative techniques—ones that set a new standard for earthquake safety, yet guard against damage to the marine plants and animals that help make the San Francisco Bay a magnet for the world,” Morales said.

Tony Grasso, AGC executive director, said his association has been involved in development of the project on a variety of levels, from funding promotion to outreach programs, constructability review and the environmental approval process.

“Most recently, we worked with the department and the contractors to assure continuity of construction through the budget deadlock,” Grasso said, referring to the state’s $38 billion budget deficit.

“Many contractors continued to work without any assurance of timely progress payments,” he added.