The Bay Bridge: Competing Against Time

Scientists call the Bay Area a tectonic time bomb. Earthquake faults crisscross the region, pushing up mountains and creating the bay itself; the Bay Bridge sits between two of the most dangerous. To the west is the San Andreas Fault, responsible for the devastating quake of 1906 and to the east is the Hayward Fault, just five miles from the Bay Bridge.

Geologist David Schwartz says the Hayward fault ruptures every 140 to 150 years.

"It's been 141 years since the last large earthquake," he told Pitts. "And so, it's time. It's due."

"The Hayward Fault sits right in the middle of the Bay area geographically and population wise. Two million people sit directly on top of it. And when it goes, it will be the first major earthquake to occur in the middle of a modern U.S. city. We haven't had that before. We don't know what the results of that will be," Schwartz said.

Asked if such a quake will be devastating, Schwartz said, "It will be something, I think, that's beyond what we really expect."

After the Loma Prieta quake, the report, "Competing Against Time," put Californians on notice that their roads and bridges needed fixing.

"It's what we go back to when we need to remember that we've got to move quickly and we've got to try and get the project completed," Ney said.

":Okay, you say 'quickly.' The document was done in May of 1990," Pitts pointed out. "It's been a long time."

"It has been a long time," Ney acknowledged.

Now Caltrans has another race against time with evidence that the existing bridge is falling apart. Last fall, a six-inch crack in a steel beam closed the bridge for emergency repairs.

"You know, for everyday use this bridge is safe. But in the event of a major earthquake this bridge is not safe," Steve Heminger said.

Heminger is feeling the heat as head of the Bay Bridge project, now ten years behind schedule.

"And there is no question that we could have built this structure faster. There's no question that we should have built it faster," he told Pitts. "We had arguments about where the bridge would go and what extras should be on it. We ran out of money several times."

Another reason it's taking so long is a self anchored suspension bridge this big is difficult to build. That's because the main cable isn't anchored into bedrock - it's anchored to the bridge itself.

"To build this type of bridge, you literally have to build two bridges. One that will hold the deck in place until you can put the cable system in later," Ney explained.

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[denvermorgan3000]

I dont want to be anywhere near that bridge its going to fail
if a big enough earthquake hits its going to fail

[Shannonleslie]

And what I would love for 60 Minutes to delve into is why we are outsourcing this major project to China? When there are so many questions as to the quality of products we get from China, when China already practically owns us, and when so many jobs are needed right here at home, why? I find it appalling.

[Shannonleslie]

You know, for everyday use this bridge is safe. But in the event of a major earthquake this bridge is not safe," Steve Heminger said.

Nobody who lives here believes the bridge is day to day safe anymore.

[Shannonleslie]

"Whatever we built out there would have to meet very exacting seismic standards," Heminger said. "Whatever we built would have cost billions of dollars, so why not build something beautiful? Why not build something inspiring?"

My son was not quite two when Loma Prieta hit. He is now twenty-two and the bridge is only now being started. Perhaps that's why.



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