I wasn't living here in 1989 when the 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake rattled the bay area. In fact, I was 250 miles away watching the San Francisco Giants get ready to take on the Oakland A's in the World Series on TV--and I felt the quake. It's perplexing to realize that 20 years later, the eastern span of the Bay Bridge is still under construction. On the one hand, it's kinda cool to see the bridge rising from beneath the bay waters. On the other hand, it's disturbing to see how political egos (Mayors Willie Brown and Jerry Brown), state budget issues, 2 recessions and dependence on foreign steel have elongated the timeline and costs for completion.
Over the Labor Day holiday, starting Thursday September 3, the Bay Bridge reaches another milestone on its' Evolutionary Path. The eastern span, which connects to Yerba Buena Island, will be replaced with a 4-year temporary S-shaped bridge. This will allow for construction to begin on the self-anchored suspension span (SAS), a critical piece of the new construction.
But this is the part that scares me. As you can see in the second image, commuters will have to slow down in order to safely exit the S-path. And if there's one thing we can count on, it's that some drivers will attempt to cross going at full speed.
What's a commuter to do? This might be the best time to avoid carpool and stick with the transbay buses. I only take BART as a last resort because because the fear of taking a train underwater and getting stuck far outweighs the fear of sharing a bus. What will you do?
