1/2/2014 10:12:00 AM
HEADLINES
Oakland Bay Bridge Bolt Fix Costs $25 Million
Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group
“Caltrans activated its complex fix for the broken rods on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge… marking the end of the most embarrassing chapter in the largest public works project in state history,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Originally priced at $10 million, the elaborate retrofit for the Oakland Bay Bridge cost $25 million. The fix was prompted after bridge officials discovered significant bolt issues in March when 32 rods anchoring the roadway to earthquake safety structures cracked weeks after being tightened.
Hydrogen embrittlement was determined to be the cause of the failure.
“The replacement system put in service Thursday employs 142 high-strength steel tendons, each composed of more than 2,000 individual steel strands, stretched over steel plates… (that) clamp down the vital seismic stabilizers, known as shear keys,” writes Jaxon Van Derbeken of the Chronicle.
American Bridge-Fluor oversaw the work but who will pay for the replacement system is still being negotiated. The massive bolts were manufactured by Ohio-based Dyson Corporation.
Bridge officials say ongoing tests reveal no evidence of weakness in the span’s remaining 2,214 high-strength steel fasteners, according to the Contra Costa Times. But investigations are scheduled in the coming months. ©2013 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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