Nearly 6,800 Tons of Steel for New Iconic East Span
Oakland, Jan. 21, 2010–The first of 28 immense deck sections for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s new Self-Anchored Suspension Span (SAS) arrived in the San Francisco Bay today after a trans-Pacific voyage. The SAS is the most iconic element of the bridge’s new East Span.
The eight deck sections, and several cross beams that will link the span’s east- and westbound decks, weigh nearly 6,800 tons. These first sections will be used to build the western end of the SAS. Future shipments will include sections of the span’s single 525-foot-tall tower.
The sections set sail on a 738-foot-long ship from Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., LTD (ZPMC) in Shanghai, China on Dec. 30, 2009. Massive fasteners that are welded to the ship held the enormous deck sections, which were stacked two deep and enveloped in tarps to protect them from the rough winter seas during the nearly three-week voyage.
The sections will be lifted onto temporary steel supports by the 400- by 100-foot shear leg crane barge, dubbed the Left Coast Lifter, which arrived in the Bay Area in March 2009. The crane’s boom weighs 992 tons, and is 328 feet long. The crane can lift up to 1,873 tons; watching the crane barge lift these first eight sections will be an amazing spectacle to behold. The crane barge has already been busy at work erecting the temporary steel that will initially support the SAS.
For the next few weeks, the steel will undergo a series of reviews to ensure that no damaged occurred during sea transportation. Once these reviews are finished and final preparations for installation are complete, a barge will transfer the sections to the work site. Erection of the deck sections is expected to begin in mid-February, which will mark a major milestone of the iconic span that will transform the Bay and bring another world-class bridge to the region.
Source: Bay Bridge Press Release, January 21, 2010: Massive Deck Sections for Bay Bridge’s Self-Anchored Suspension Span Arrive (click to download)
For more information, visit the official Bay Bridge website or call the Bay Bridge Public Information Office: (510) 286-7167.
