TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June/July 2008

Region Celebrates Official Opening of
West Approach to Bay Bridge

Complex Seismic Safety Project Delivered Seven Months Early

West Approach Up Close

It may not boast dramatic features, but the new West Approach to the Bay Bridge mirrors some of the historic architectural details in the original structure, and is a work of art in its own right. The elevated structure represents a triumph of engineering and construction know-how over a challenging setting, with multistory homes and offices just feet from the heavy machinery and workers.

Originally, the West Approach had an upper deck (westbound) and lower deck (eastbound) configuration for much of its course through San Francisco, with one foundation system supporting both decks. Each deck now has an independent column and foundation support system and the roadways run essentially side by side for a greater distance rather than on top of each other. The project is a retrofit by replacement, with Caltrans building temporary structures to keep traffic moving while the permanent structures have been dismantled and rebuilt.

While the project was declared substantially complete when the permanent eastbound deck opened in April 2008, work will continue over the next several months as the temporary structure that carried eastbound traffic is removed, the permanent decks are widened to provide a full shoulder in each direction, the Harrison Street off-ramp is completed and retrofit work continues from Harrison to the San Francisco anchorage.

See photo gallery

There was plenty to smile about at the spring event to celebrate the earlier-than-expected official opening of the Bay Bridge’s new West Approach, a one-mile elevated stretch of Interstate 80 coursing through San Francisco’s densely developed South of Market residential and commercial area. And smiles abounded, with neighbors and construction workers posing together for photos while enjoying a down-home barbecue lunch.

While the block party was getting under way at the street level, officials gathered on the elevated roadway deck to mark what Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the keynote speaker, termed “mind-boggling construction and engineering feats.”

“The Bay Bridge is an economic and transportation colossus and we are rebuilding it to make it seismically safe for generations to come,” Schwarzenegger said.

“I could not be more proud of the incredible workers who are making the West Approach of the bridge a reality, a full seven months ahead of schedule.”

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom noted the project was completed without the “stress and consternation” one might expect, given that it took place in what essentially was the neighbors’ front yard.

The seismic safety work on the West Approach has been, in Caltrans Director Will Kempton’s words, “the most complex staging job that this department has ever accomplished.” The five-year effort has involved completely removing and replacing the freeway in its original footprint as well as replacing all on- and off-ramps. Kempton compared the project to “changing a tire on a car that’s moving at 65 miles per hour.”

The West Approach is one of several monumental seismic projects funded by MTC’s Bay Area Toll Authority, which has been working hand in hand with Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission to deliver the projects on time and on budget.
— Paisley Strellis

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