Bay Area Bridges

[Animo]

http://thebaylights.org/

It's not the frosting on the cake that says "Happy Birthday"; it's the flickering lights of the candles. In that spirit, the Bay Bridge, which turns a distinguished 75 years old Saturday, could be transformed into a sprawling abstract light sculpture next year as part of an extended celebration.

Bridge officials and arts aficionados will announce plans for the Bay Lights at a low-key Bay Bridge birthday celebration this morning on Treasure Island. The $7 million project, which is working its way through the Caltrans approval process, will be privately funded.

"We're looking to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bay Bridge and have a monumental piece of art in place for the next two years," said Ben Davis, the project organizer.

The installation, designed by internationally known light artist Leo Villareal, will use 30,000 white LED lights, 1 inch in diameter, placed a foot apart on the west span's suspension and suspender cables, to paint a constantly evolving display 1 1/2 miles wide and 230 feet high. The independently controlled LEDs will be linked in a network that uses complex algorithms that factor in traffic, weather and the bridge's motions to create patterns.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz1qRBEPWrn

[Cal_Escapee]

I remember being out in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge for its 50th anniversary celebration when we bent the bridge's normal arch "flat" with our weight. I recall seeing a number of pictures of that at the time, but I can't find any now.

[612bv3]

Golden Gate Bridge approach coming down


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

(04-10) 09:30 PDT San Francisco, CA (AP) --

The main approach to the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco is set to come down, as crews replace it with a new $1.1 billion parkway.

Officials announced on Monday that construction workers will demolish Doyle Drive at the end of the month. The roadway will be closed from 8 p.m. on Friday, April 27 to 5 a.m. on Monday, April 30 as dozens of hydraulic hammers bring the structure down and a temporary bypass is set up.

Residents are being warned of noise and traffic jams throughout the weekend. Traffic to the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco will be redirected to Highway 1.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz1rl0w17ex

[612bv3]

Rain forecast delaying Lefty O’Doul Bridge closure
By: Will Reisman | 04/09/12 9:06 PM
SF Examiner Staff Writer

A plan to shut down a portion of the Lefty O’Doul Bridge near AT&T Park has been pushed back a week due to the inclement weather forecast for the next several days.

The bridge, which acts as Third Street between Terry Francois and Berry streets, was set to be closed to northbound traffic starting Monday. The Public Works Department had planned on adding nonskid coating to the bridge in time for the Giants’ home opener Friday. But with rain expected for the next several days, that closure will be pushed back to 9 a.m. April 23.

The northbound section will be shut to autos until 9 a.m. April 27. The span will be open to southbound traffic; pedestrians will not be affected. Traffic controllers will direct motorists and bicyclists. Nearby Fourth Street Bridge will remain open.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/tran...#ixzz1rl54GQKE

[Cal_Escapee]

Bay Bridge's east span Big Lift begins
Michael Cabanatuan
Updated 11:02 p.m., Thursday, August 16, 2012


A work crew tightens the pressure on suspension cables on the new east span of the Bay Bridge, due to open in a year. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle / SF

As state lawmakers contemplate an independent inspection of the new Bay Bridge tower foundation, construction crews are beginning what might be called the Big Lift - a major step in building the $6.3 billion east span, scheduled to open by Labor Day 2013.

Workers on Tuesday began the three-month process of lifting the 35,200-ton bridge decks from the temporary steel trestles on which they were assembled onto the tower and main suspension cable that will cradle and support the suspension span . . . .

The Big Lift is the biggest lifting job, and perhaps the biggest act in the long drama of building the new east span. Before starting the suspension span, contractor American Bridge/Fluor built a long steel trestle. Wedge-shaped deck pieces, built in and shipped from China, were assembled atop the trestle while a 525-foot tower was erected. The suspension cable was strung from the east end over the tower, looped beneath the west end, back over the tower and back to the other side of the east end. Then suspender cables were attached.

The lift, in technical terms "load transfer," is a complicated process that involves a command center directing eight work crews using dozens of hydraulic jacks to gradually adjust the tension on 200 suspender cables that connect the decks of the bridges to the lone suspension cable, which loops around and under the bridge and over the tower.

As they increase the tension on carefully selected suspender cables evenly spaced along the span, the bridge deck will slowly rise. Once 104 of the cables are adjusted, the bridge decks will lift 1.6 feet above the supporting trestles. Most of the lifting will take place during the next month and a half, Maroney said. But workers will continue to adjust the tension on the rest of the suspender cables to distribute the massive weight of the bridge more evenly, giving more stability to the span.

During the process of adjusting the suspender cables, crews will also be using a jack at the western end of the bridge to keep the bridge in balance as they gradually release cables that tilted the tower slightly toward San Francisco while the main suspension cable was installed. In the final step of the load transfer, the suspension cable will be covered in zinc paste, wrapped with wire and painted white to protect it from the elements.

Workers will also wedge the suspension span and the long-finished skyway together and fasten them, then remove the temporary trestles. That will leave completion of the connections to Yerba Buena Island and Oakland along with some finishing touches. The new east span is still on schedule to open in a little more than a year, Ney said.

While all the work is going on, Maroney said, the bridge will be moving. The suspension cable will move more than 30 feet as it's tightened, and the bright orange catwalks will move with it. The bridge deck will also shorten slightly as the cables are tightened and it's lifted . . . .

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...ns-3794683.php

[612bv3]

Source: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/

Caltrans to Close San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Over Two Weekends

September 28, 2012
Caltrans announced today that the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge will be closed over two weekends, October 19-22 and October 26-29, 2012. The full closure for all eastbound and westbound lanes will begin at 10 p.m. on Friday and continue until 5 a.m. on Monday. The bridge will be open for the weekday commute.

The full closure will allow crews to replace a damaged expansion joint that allows the bridge decks to expand and contract with changing temperatures and in response to seismic forces. Located just east of the high-rise portion of the bridge, the joint extends horizontally across all six lanes of traffic (three westbound and three eastbound lanes). The operation will involve the replacement of 30 feet of the bridge decks on either side of the joint, for a total of 60 feet of new roadway being installed during the closures.

Commuters are asked to use alternate routes such as the Dumbarton Bridge or Highway 237 to the south of the San Mateo-Hawyard Bridge, or the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to the north, or to use public transit. MTC's 511.org Traveler Information Service will be the go-to place for traffic conditions and transit trip planning.

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/news/current_t...teo_bridge.htm

[triodegradable]

Awesome pictures ! I was there in SF last june and you have a really nice City ! And the bridges they are awesome . I Will be back soon ! Greetings from Argentina

[612bv3]

Source: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/

It’s Golden! Workhorse Benicia-Martinez Bridge Celebrates 50th Anniversary

September 21, 2012
She’s a bit of a plain Jane compared to some of the Bay Area’s other toll bridges, but the original span of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge is nonetheless a transportation workhorse, and will get some love next week as officials gather to celebrate her 50th birthday.

Spanning the Carquinez Strait along Interstate 680, and connecting Contra Costa County with Solano County, the 1.2-mile span carried both directions of traffic when it originally opened on September 16, 1962. Growing traffic volumes in the ensuing decades overwhelmed the original span, prompting MTC’s Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and Caltrans to partner on building a second parallel span, which opened in 2007. The original span was converted to carry four lanes of southbound traffic as well as a new bicycle and pedestrian pathway, while its younger sister span carries five lanes of northbound traffic.

In a unique tribute to a father-son public service duo, the newer span is named after Congressman George Miller, while the original span is named for his father, the late George Miller, Jr., who served in the state Assembly from 1947 to 1948, and in the state Senate from 1949 to 1969.

BATA financed the second span, as well as widening, retrofitting and reconfiguring of the original span, with funding from bridge tolls flowing from Regional Measure 1, approved by voters in 1988. Funding from another MTC/BATA-sponsored voter measure, Regional Measure 2, has paid for additional transportation improvements in the bridge corridor.

“The Benicia-Martinez Bridge, quite simply, was the key to unlocking the biggest period of growth in central Solano County history. So it’s entirely appropriate that we celebrate the bridge’s first 50 years, and also look forward to a healthy and prosperous middle age,” said MTC Commissioner Jim Spering, who also sits on the Solano County Board of Supervisors and is vice chair of that body.

While they are different structural types, both the old and new Benicia-Martinez spans appear as clean ribbons of roadway stretching across the Strait. A scalloped railroad bridge that sits between the old and the new motor vehicle bridges dates back to1930 and gives the site additional architectural interest. The twin-spanned car/truck facility carried nearly 18 million toll-paying vehicles in 2010-11, making it the third-busiest among the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges.

[612bv3]

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Fireworks: http://vimeo.com/42969389

[Cal_Escapee]

You can do that like this:



Just use [v*meo]XXXXX[/vimeo] XXXXX being the number in the vimeo url (the * is actually the letter i of course).

[612bv3]

Thanks! I knew how to do it with youtube videos but I wasn't sure if it was the same for vimeo.

[612bv3]

[612bv3]

[triodegradable]

Awesome

[612bv3]

Source: www.dailyrepublic.com

Solano toll bridges might see all-electronic collections

By Barry Eberling

FAIRFIELD — Drivers still have the option of stopping at toll booths on the Benicia and Carquinez bridges and paying toll collectors in cash – at least, for now.

That won’t be true on the Golden Gate Bridge in February 2013. That one Bay Area bridge will stop accepting cash tolls at the toll plazas and instead will use all-electronic methods to get the money. Motorists will either prepay their tolls or pay later so that the traffic keeps moving.

The Golden Gate Bridge is different from other regional bridges, in that it is owned and operated by the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. The Bay Area Toll Authority oversees the remaining seven regional, state-owned toll bridges.

Read more: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/so...c-collections/

[fieldsofdreams]

So it looks like ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) might be implemented on all Bay Area bridges... But I think the most difficult challenge would be at the Bay Bridge where it consists of around 15 lanes for tolls, and that the FasTrak lanes are placed in the middle of the toll plaza, forcing drivers to swerve and merge if they happen to pay by cash. The next question: when will ETC be implemented on more Bay Area highways?

[612bv3]

Source: http://www.sfgate.com

San Mateo Bridge work ahead of schedule
CALTRANS
Michael Cabanatuan
Updated 8:54 p.m., Sunday, October 21, 2012

Caltrans officials canceled a second closure of the San Mateo Bridge scheduled for next weekend after deciding Sunday that construction crews could complete all of their repairs by early Monday morning.

The 7-mile-long bridge between Foster City and Hayward, which carries about 92,000 vehicles each weekday, was expected to reopen on schedule at 5 a.m. Monday in time for the morning commute.

"That second weekend work, we were able to complete this weekend," said Traci Ruth, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...#ixzz2A8L855RP

[612bv3]

Source: www.sfexaminer.com

Median barrier on Golden Gate Bridge taking shape with contract approval
By: Mike Billings | 10/28/12 7:59 PM
Assistant Managing Editor | Follow On Twitter @Mbillings

A barrier planned for the median of the Golden Gate Bridge to prevent head-on collisions took a step toward completion Friday when the agency that operates the span approved a contract for the project’s final design.

Since 2009, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has been working on a median barrier that can be moved to accommodate traffic flows across the span for different commuting needs. The plan is for a 1-foot-wide, 32-inch-tall concrete barrier that would be moved using a special vehicle. The $25 million project will replace rubber pylons currently used to divide traffic.

The bridge district on Friday approved a $2.15 million contract with Oakland-based AECOM Technical Services to perform the final design of the barrier. According to bridge district documents, the company was responsible for the environmental review and preliminary technical design, which made it the best fit to do the final work.

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/tran...#ixzz2Al9HYeQH

[fieldsofdreams]

Finally! Hopefully, the movable barrier will be a collision deterrent, as well as allow lane changing to be done much quicker than the manual lane changing that happens everyday and every night.

[612bv3]

Source: www.marinij.com

All-electronic tolls coming to the Golden Gate Bridge, driving public urged to prepare

By Mark Prado
Marin Independent Journal

Posted: 11/05/2012 04:56:12 PM PST

With Golden Gate Bridge officials ready to begin the process of moving toward all-electronic tolls next month, a push by the district to get more people to use FasTrak is under way.

The bridge district's Board of Directors has already voted to eliminate the 32 toll-takers on the span. The move, among other steps, will help bail the district out of a $66 million budget shortfall over the next five years.

Once the toll-takers are off the span — that likely will occur in February — only electronic payments will be accepted. In anticipation, the bridge district is encouraging those who do not have FasTrak transponders to sign up for them. A pre-paid account, typically set up with a credit card, is required. Tolls are deducted with each crossing and replenished. A statement is sent to motorists monthly documenting each crossing.

Read more: http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_...bridge-driving