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With Frick and her book [Remaking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge] as guide, CityLab tracked bridge expenses over time to get some sense of how the project that Herbert Hoover once called “the greatest bridge yet constructed in the world” became yet another example of a major public works project in which the cost ended outrageously higher than it began—and some ideas for what to do about it. — CityLab
Zaha Hadid isn't the only one who has suffered from hugely inflated construction estimates: back in 1995, Caltrans estimated that it would only cost $250 million to retrofit the earthquake-damaged Bay Bridge. Eleven years and several construction estimates later, that figure had swollen to $... View full entry
This relatively low-tech method is among a battery of tests that materials scientists are using to determine why several anchor rods securing the newest portion of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the region’s busiest, failed their earthquake inspections. The first alarms sounded in 2013, when seismic tests found 32 faulty rods. They’d been sitting in a large pool of water, corroding. — wired.com
Previously:Bolts along Bay Bridge bike path failAfter $6.4 Billion, San Francisco Bridge Remains a MessTime-Lapse of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Construction View full entry
For 76 years, the gray steel eastern span of the Bay Bridge was cursed and reviled but mostly just taken for granted. [...]
At least two groups of artists and architects have mounted campaigns to spare some of the steel from the recyclers so that they can transform it into artworks that might include a home, a public gathering space and an Airbnb rental space - with a view of the new Bay Bridge.
— sfgate.com
Related:Winners of the Bay Bridge House Student Design CompetitionRethinking The Bay Line View full entry
With a total of 73 entries from 37 schools around the world, the winners have finally been revealed for the Bay Bridge House Student Design Competition. Architecture and design students had to develop a modern, self-sustainable house made from the scraps of the soon-to-be-demolished eastern span of the historic Oakland Bay Bridge in the California Bay Area. — bustler.net
The winners are: Overall: "Hanging House" by Lee Ka Chun and Ngan Ching Ying (The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture) Board Members winner: "An Invisible Triangle" by Qazi Shamsud Tamzeed (Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology) Community Vote: "The Bay Bridge... View full entry
This proposal seeks to demonstrate the potential for re-purposing the historic American bridge infrastructure as possible sites for sustainable urban housing and linear parks...an aerial garden, as the cities newest park through which you could walk and wander and enjoy the most spectacular views of the bay — Rael San Fratello/reThink Bay Bridge
With the recent completion of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the group reTHINK Bay Bridge, comprised of Rael San Fratello Architects (Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello), Frederic Schwartz Architects (Frederic Schwartz) and architect Marc L’Italien have proposed... View full entry
The much anticipated—and wildly criticized—San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge finally opened to the public earlier this week (previously on Archinect). See 42,000 hours of bridge construction compressed to a compact 4-minute time-lapse video below. View full entry
The eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was supposed to be the crowning glory of the bridge-builder’s art, gracefully echoing the rolling hills surrounding San Francisco Bay.
Yet as the project heads for a Labor Day opening after $6.4 billion and 15 years, the country’s most daringly iconic highway bridge stands as a poster child for those who think major infrastructure projects are wasteful.
— bloomberg.com
Previously: Bolts along Bay Bridge bike path fail View full entry
Crews that built the railing committed what experts called a basic mistake - they welded the bolts in place firmly in their slots rather than leaving a small amount of room to accommodate a natural expansion of the bicycle path that happens in hot weather.
As a result, scores of the 1-inch-diameter bolts have been sheared off along the 1.2-mile bike path on the southern side of the span's skyway section.
— sfgate.com
