Feds to probe Bay Bridge problems
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
The federal government will investigate how Caltrans allowed more than 2,300 suspect steel rods to be installed on the new Bay Bridge eastern span and will review the agency's $10 million fix more than two dozen that have already failed, officials said Monday.
The probe will be conducted by the Federal Highway Administration, which agreed to come in at the request of a state-local panel overseeing the $6.4 billion eastern span. The panel, which represents both Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, sought an "arm's length" review of the problems with high-strength, galvanized threaded rods installed on the bridge since 2007.
Problems with the rods have raised questions about whether the span will open to traffic as scheduled Sept. 3. A spokesman for the federal agency would not speculate on how long its probe might take.
"Our work has just started," said Doug Hecox, spokesman for the highway administration.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Feds-to-probe-Bay-Bridge-problems-4512267.php
= new reply since forum marked as read
In this NPR article, I don't know WTF they mean by "the deck" because the concrete road sections were cast in the inland port city of Stockton and sent by barge to the site.
This assembly will be performed early next year by American labor. But the massive cable, key sections of the iconic tower and deck were all made in China, which is emerging as an infrastructure powerhouse in more places than San Francisco. For example, Chinese companies have contracted with New York City for a bridge, the subway system and a commuter train platform.
The decision to outsource the fabrication of key sections of the Bay Bridge was made about five years ago, when a contractor offered alternate bids on the project, says Tony Anziano, a manager at the California Department of Transportation.
"One proposing to do work domestically, one proposing to do the work internationally: There was a $400 million differential in that bid, and in that case it would have required the work to go international," he says.
California avoided legal requirements to use domestic steel by not using federal funds for the job.
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/16/140515737/california-turns-to-china-for-new-bay-bridge
Lost art? All those construction workers went back to school, got MBA's and work on Wall Street? What the heck is going on here? Used to be NYC was union controlled in the construction industry. How did all this just "slip by?" Bloomberg and NYS just couldn't find the money? Boondoogle? We gave China some work so they'd buy more of our Bonds? 
From the article:
For example, Chinese companies have contracted with New York City for a bridge, the subway system and a commuter train platform.
Thanks for the post and link about this...
Of course I was just trying to clarify some of the details, but in doing so I learned that the state was skating the issue and wouldn't take Federal funds so that they wouldn't have to buy American.
As to the concrete decks of the Skyway, I take personal pride in knowing that they were cast just a mile or two away from my house.
The earthquake was in '89. There were years spent quibbling over the design. TPTB wanted something iconic. Cost over rides, delays and now this.
This new bridge doesn't even seem to go with the other half. This could have been completed years ago with a simple safe design.
