Posted on 03/08/2007 12:47:53 PM PST by NormsRevenge
Building a new bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland will cost $140 million more than originally planned, state and local transportation officials said.
The additional expense is due to rising construction and material costs and changes in plans for work on Yerba Buena Island, officials said Wednesday. The changes include efforts to reduce the time a temporary detour will be used and the decision to rebuild, rather than retrofit, the elevated roadway just east of the tunnels on the island.
The move to rebuild will also mean that the Bay Bridge will have to close down sometime this year, but it's still not clear how long the closure will last, and when it will be scheduled.
Officials said these changes are an inconvenience now but are designed to prevent additional cost increases and delays in the future.
"These are good business decisions to make the project better," said Rod McMillan, director of bridge oversight and operations for the Bay Area Toll Authority.
The additional cash will come from a $900 million contingency fund that was part of the bridge's $6.3 billion construction budget.
the bridge's $6.3 billion construction budget?
just a little over a year ago Caltrans had still another projected cost: almost $5.3 billion dollars.
CA: Cost Of Bay Bridge Suspension Tower Could Skyrocket (project may likely cost 500 million more) ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1552888/posts
Posted by NormsRevenge
On News/Activism ^ 01/05/2006 10:11:46 PM PST · 18 replies · 391+ views
KTVU.com ^ | 1/5/06
OAKLAND -- A federal study now under way finds the cost of building the new Bay Bridge -- specifically the signature 525-foot suspension tower -- could explode again, this time by almost half a billion dollars. Almost ten years ago, Caltrans estimated it would cost $1.3 billion dollars to replace the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. Five years ago, the state said it would in fact cost almost twice that much -- $2.5 billion -- for a new bridge. Last year, Caltrans had still another projected cost: almost $5.3 billion dollars. Wednesday night, Caltrans spokesman Jeff Weiss acknowledged the...
Only $143 million? Ping me when they start talking about real money.
/s
Aren't they just adding a span and retrofitting for earthquakes, not building a whole new bridge?
Aren't they just adding a span and retrofitting for earthquakes, not building a whole new bridge?
Sounds just like Boston's horribly corrupt BIG DIG Project.
Good luck.
Nope, half a new bridge, a whole new East span, and lots of seismic retrofit..
http://www.baybridgeinfo.org/
They are replacing the eastern span, between Yerba Buena island and Oakland. That span consists of several different bridge designs, a cantilever span, some truss spans and something else. It is built on wood pilings driven into the mud 70 years ago and it won't hold up to a major earthquake. In fact, this is the part of the bridge where a section of the upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
This new span will extend the life of the entire bridge well into the 22nd century and since it's a side by side design rather than a stacked design, failure of one roadway won't neccessarily shut down the other roadway. Millions of cars per year cross this bridge. Bridges are the lifeblood of the entire SF Bay area. The alternative is about a 20 mile detour across the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges, which are also heavily utilized.
I know things are bad in CA, but please don't compare what happens here to the corruption that takes place in Beantown. We don't have an Irish Mafia holding the reigns here, just the usual inept bureaucrats like every other state/municipality has.
Appreciated.
Appreciated.
Not a Bostonian--those are other freepers.
The eastern span (e.g. between Oakland and the Yerba Buena Island tunnel) is an entirely new bridge. The western span (the suspension part leading into downtown SF) is unaffected.
I can see the bridge from my house.
The really sad thing is that the original bridge was built in 18 months in 1933, without computers.
This new bridge will not be completed until 2013, and it's been under construction over 3 years already.
I can see the bridge from my house.
The really sad thing is that the original bridge was built in 18 months in 1933, without computers.
This new bridge will not be completed until 2013, and it's been under construction over 3 years already.
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They know that there is money to be made. It is all about the dollars. Remember this is a different era. People have to cross the bay somehow.
Since the tolls have gone up already one dollar recently, look for the tolls to go up another dollar soon. You can take that to the bank.
This has been going on so long that "Da Mayor" was part of the unofficial "design review committee" - it had to have style like one of his fedoras or 4$K suits ... LOL!
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