-
The Bay Bridge is Built
The plan for the bridge to be built passed through the the California Legislature who set up up a project to govern the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Although construction for the bridge did not begin until 1933 due to complications with the obstacle of distance between the two cities. The total cost for the bridge was 77 million dollars, which was paid off from tolls collected. The bridge was opened for traffic in November of 1936. Photo by Library of Congress -
Bridge Damage Due to Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989
On October 17th of 1989, San Francisco experienced a 6.9 magnitude earthquake which shook for 20 seconds. This damge was felt throughout all of San Francisco, and a devastating 63 people were killed, 3,757 were reported injured and 12,053 displaced. It caused significant damage to the eastern crossing of the bridge. A 15m section of the upper deck was dislodged from its support at an expansion joint and fell onto the lower deck, resulting in the death of a motorist. Photo by Bart.gov -
Re-opening of Bay Bridge After Earthquake
Only a month after construction to fix the broken piece of the Bay Bridge, it re-opened for drivers commuting to work, business, school, and other activities. The bridge officially re-opened on a Friday at midnight. A celebration was thrown beacause of the quick fix of the bridge in which it included a stroll of about 11,000 people listening to music and speeches. -
Period: to
Complicated Construction of East Span of Bay Bridge
Due to the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, causing the destruction of part of the bridge, sparked a concern and re-evaluation of it’s safety. Over the course of the next 15 years, many complications rose that kept on piling up which put a halt on construction. Construction began in 2002 but repeatedly was facing delays. It was not until the summer of 2005 a compromise was reached and the new cost estimate was 6.3 billion dollars. -
Dazzling Lights of The Bay Bridge
The Bay lights were organized to commemorate the bridges’ 75th anniversary. It was created by Leo Villareal, and is made up of 25,00 individual programmed white LED lights, which display across the whole north side of the Bay Bridge west span. The overall cost of the project was $8 million. It was made as a temporal art work, scheduled to only be open until 2015, but due to its dazzling display it was made permanent. Photo by Illuminate The Arts -
East Span of The Bay Bridge
The eastern span replacement is the largest public works project in California history. The design for the East Span took 4 years and 11 years to finish construction. The original opening of the bridge was set in 2007, but numerous problems occured which delayed the opening until Labor Day, September 2, 2013. A two-hour dedication ceremony was slammed with 14 speeches, a majority from politicians before the opening. Photo by sunengtech.com -
Closure of The Bay Bridge Lights But Possible Rebirth of New Lights
The lights of the Bay Bridges’ west span will become shut off after 10 years of shining bright. It is going dark due to the art instillation’s hardware failing from the envirnoment of strong winds, moisture, salty air from the ocean and the cost to maintain them. The nonprofit organization Illuminate hopes to raise $11 million in order to save the lights, but replace it with a complete makeover.