Watching the new bridge be built, and the old one taken down was one of the cool parts of my childhood years. The new one feels so much safer to go across than the old one. I remember when going across the old one into the city, it was kinda dark on the upper road. The new one is pretty well lit in contrast.
How do you feel safer? The bolts holding the main span to the foundation are rusting and they can't stop it. They will fail one day or the bridge will have to be replaced before they fully fail
The new bridge construction was faulty planned, its parts faulty built, faulty inspected, faulty assembled and faulty installed with some subpar, therefore unsafe materials. I also still remember the freight truck tragically falling off the the bridge right next to the Yerba Buena Tunnel, simply because it didn’t occur to not one responsible to reduce speed limits neither clearly sign, nor warn about the sharp turn off/into the provisory/temporary part of the bride while building the new one Sad to say I do not feel any safer crossing this new bridge than crossing the old one.
This bridge was mostly made in China in sections and shipped to the bayarea then welded together. Most all the welds made in china were bad and had to be grinded out and re-welded on location. It would have been cheaper to have made in the US to begin with.
It was welded by meth heads. My friend's step dad welded on the bridge ans he would work 24 hours at a time. He has a sweet drone picture of himself welding on top of the tower and you can see down town Oakland in the background. But I refuse to drive over that bridge.
@@IslandcitymediaMakes sense!… After being here 1.5-yrs being from Florida, and knowing much of the eastern portion of UsA… Bay area especially east coast of it has so much in common and similarities to areas of KY, OH , IN, etc, where opioids are a problem… Then again i think of the west coasts historical growth and it stems from those areas so makes sense… Hopefully the bridge endures a century atleast
Big Hater lol. Just so you know. China itself has built tons of huge bridges and incredible mega projects across the country, if you just google or search on UA-cam. They all stay super well. They even build bridges in South China Sea, 10 times longer than this. So why Bay Bridge now has issues? The most important thing after you build a big project is the "maintenance". But the US just wants to maintain it by itself and it involves so many malfunctions.. On the other hand, the US has the most strict law on all the industrial imports from China. This is not toys or socks or day-to-day consumptions that you just got from small businesses. This is INFRASTRUCTURE that the US and California have to evaluate, inspect and examine for hundreds of times. So when you are saying the Bay Bridge in the US that China has made is gone bad, it actually means it's not China's problem, but more of the US problem, or more specific, California's problem that has a lot of governmental corruptions. On top of that, more sadly, it also proves the US / California no longer has the capability to build anything by itself nowadays. Only a BIG BUBBLE of a bunch of crappy software companies + the greedy wall street.
My brother worked for a company that bid on weld testing equipment and training for Cal Trans before the weld debacle surfaced, they were going to sell Cal Trans necessary equipment to do weld inspections for 250k extremely cheap considering how much the work stoppage cost the project after the scandal surfaced. Cal Trans decided that the equipment my brother was offering wasn’t necessary, as a potential contractor a journalist from the San Francisco Chronicle contacted my brother for an interview about his bidding for that job. Long story short, pay a little to save a lot goes long ways in insuring safety of everyone, and yea my brother was most concerned about the steel used for the road deck surface that is covered by concrete in the construction process.
I can't believe it's been a decade already. And that it took like 15 years to build. I knew the old span for 15 or so years before the new span was started. Then for 15 years watching the new span be built. And finally I've forgotten all but about 15% of the old span.
@@boohere2 yes. It sure does have a walking path but only from the Oakland side to treasure Island which is the island between Oakland and San Francisco. The path does not take you all the way to SF but you can definitely walk across the new bridge.
As a result of this bridge and other bridge work, the toll went from $1 in the 90s, when I lived there, to $2 at the start of the 2000s. Now the toll is $8.
@@NickDipples2014 The toll will never go down even when the bridge is paid off. The Golden Gate was paid off over 50 years ago. When I was there it was $2 to cross, now it's $9.25.
I happened to be visiting the area just before this new span was opened. At that time I learned of the immanent failure of the old span were there to be an earthquake of 4.5 or greater. I was shacked that everyone had continued to use the old bridge after this was disclosed. I opted to take the long way around! I also decided to extend my trip in order to be one of the first to drive across the new bridge when it opened. It really was amazing how quickly the construction was able to disconnect the old bridge and connect the new one to the tunnel which took place over labor day weekend. They actually finished hours ahead of schedule!
things in the SF Bay Area have to be built right and tough and that is not cheap - That is why more people were killed when a condo in Florida collapsed under its own weight than in the last major earthquake to hit the Bay Area
They picked the worst design choice for the bottom structure which was the most expensive to build and maintain. A simple levee extension and ramped viaduct like the Sam Mateo bridge would have cost 1/4 the price, would have been safer would have not obstructed the skyline and would have been much cheaper to maintain.
Later on, the Left Coast Lifter was moved to New York state and was utilized in the construction of the replacement bridge for the Tappen Zee Bridge, and some of the removal of sections of the old Tappen Zee Bridge. They did not officially rename the barge crane for fear of creating bad luck that sometimes happens when a boat or ship is renamed. But they did nickname it "I Lift NY"
This is incredibly informative and well done! Thanks so much, can you please please please do the Richmond/San Rafael bridge? There’s a lot of talk about it in the Metro public meetings I’d be curious to hear your take on the history and is current status
The Richmond San Rafael Bridge feels like its been under repair for the last 20 years now. It is the bridge I least want to be on if a major quake hits.
I lived in North Oakland at the time of construction. I'll never forget hearing them pounding in the pylons into the bedrock on Saturday mornings when I just wanted to sleep in. It's worth either being on a boat in the bay to get a view or taking a gander from Treasure Island. It's a beautiful bridge.
Yes, its a very beautiful structure, especially at night when going west bound popping out of the YB tunnel, and immediately seeing the immense tower and soaring cables bathed in LED lighting...its really impressive and never gets old!
How does $250 million cost turns into a $6.5 BILLION someone got screwed and it's the taxpayers, and they didn't even deliver a top notch bridge. And again even with delays (actually even with many delays) and changes and this and that, it is crazy that the $250 million bridge mutated into the equivalent of 26 bridges worth of cost but for just one, and came problems. And who is jail? Nobody, the politicians put on a good act and got their kickbacks, the private industry made sure to markup everything at a bargain of just 2000% and up. Everyone got what they wanted and left the bill behind for us. The Dream.
I remember about 10-15 years ago my cousin and I would ride our bikes up and down the old bridge when attending college (cheaper to commute from the East Bay at the time), during construction and massive traffic jam my cousin got hit on that old section prior to Treasure Island while we we're splitting lanes. Low Speeds so no major injuries, just a cracked oil pan and someone's hood got dented because that's where he landed. That s-turn before the tunnel on T.I. had commuters in a strangle hold for decades! LOL It's still hell during commuting hours, but a much NICER ride across The Bay!
I remember the Loma Prieta earthquake. Great video and the bridge design seems to be quite decent.Considering that the Hayward fault might cut loose. In about 10 years time I just heard from 7CB seismologists with a 7.1 to 7.6
I heard the same about the Hayward fault 30 years ago. It will happen one day, but take those 10 year "predictions" with a grain of salt, it has more to do with how they compute the probability of a quake over a 10 year window than a statement about a quake actually expected within 10 years time. And most of these bridges are designed to take 9+ magnitude shaking, although there are some unique geological features of the Bay Area that could result in localized shaking more intense than one would expect given a quakes magnitude, so nothing is 100% quake proof. But, these designed were vetted, tested, questioned, retested and vetted some more during construction and the span type is far safer than its predecessor.
@@HammerOn-bu7gx No, it did not. It was just marked as meeting specs. Thousands of bolts had to be replaced and only the fact that the bridge was designed with a safety factor for severe earthquakes makes it safe for everyday use. It is inferior in almost every way to the bridge it replaced.
I live across the Bay from San Francisco and used to go over there often. I don't anymore. It's a mess. The downtown shopping district has been abandoned by many businesses. The restaurants I liked are gone. You may say what you want about it, as far as I am concerned. Oakland is a dump, too, but I live here so try to make the best of it.
We're used to it. Cable "news" channels like to come to the Tenderloin, film some human misery, and then spin it for whatever their slant is. None of them care about my city or actually getting to know it and its people. I have no patience for any of them.
A gross extravagance. A perfectly good bridge could have been built for a couple of billion, But then-mayors Jerry Brown (of Oakland) and Willie Brown (of San Francisco) wanted a signature bridge.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is responsible for the “Signature Span” with delays and quality issues. Mayor’s Willie Brown and Jerry came out against the design because, it couldn’t carry transit trains like the original could. I rode a train on the Bay Bridge in 1958.
I remember when it was 25 cents in each direction! The promise was that it would be free once the bonds were paid off, oh well…I was able to access the bridge under construction and have many pics of various stages. There are secrets in terms of construction flaws, not what is in this video, that might be exploited by terrorist so I won’t reveal them here. There’s also some things related to tech in the bridge that would blow peoples mind but would be irresponsible to discuss here. I argued with cal-trans on a major issue and needless to say I lost, I just hope it doesn’t bite us in the ass…
Wow, that's quite the increase! It’s crazy how much tolls can rise over the years, especially with all the infrastructure changes. Guess the price of progress really adds up!
I spoke to a bridge inspector when they completed the bridge, and he said the old bridge was stronger. He said to him it was a waste of money. I met a bunch of good people when I was a AAA driver...
Commuting on that bridge during construction was horrible. Anyone who drove should remember that S-curve leading in/out of TI. A semi truck was driving too fast, approaching the S-curve into the TI tunnel. It crashed the side and then flipped over, and the driver was killed. Also remember when BART union went on strike the only way to commute into SF was the BB, the Dumbarton bridge, or take the 580 Richmond bridge to get around.
Sadly, we in the S.F. Bay Area under the poor decision making of the MTC idiots bought Chinese steel apparently - very brittle - we expect that a big quake will make it snap/fall. Something about zinc in the steel or something. It caused rapid rusting we were told. Is it true? Not sure. But, it is a truly beautiful design and is so much more pleasant to drive over than the old one was.
There was not much of a choice on the steel. China had a practical monopoly on production at that time and standing up a domestic option was far more expensive. As for snapping or falling, not overly likely, the design has a decent safety margin. And many forget but, the prior bridge was snapping on its own - the thing was under lots of stress from no longer being in the right alignment post the 1989 quake. A handful of large components snapped off, including one that killed a driver. Beyond that lots of tall tales about quality issues and other things were circulated for political purpose but very few actually proved valid concerns. They need to "bite the bullet" and replace the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge too, but less use so low priority. But its really the last of those truss designs left over the bay and like the old bay bridge segment, under constant repair because its past its useful lifespan.
"very brittle", don't be naive, don't believe everything you read, all the parts from China were built to spec per contract/requirement or they would have been rejected.
It costs about $1 billion dollar for the new owner of the TransAmerican building in San Francisco to be fully remodeled and upgraded the TransAmerican Iconic building. When you put the cost of construction in the San Francisco Bay Area of California in that context, $6.5 billions to build a modern earth quake proof bridge that spans multiple miles and will lasts 100 years, seems like a bargain.
This is a government contract, and if you have any experience with government contracts, you will know that the game is play by bidding low to win the contract to build the bridge. Then once you won the bid to build the bridge, you renegotiates the contract for more money and more time. The price of that bridge is not what should be concerning the tax payers. i talked to one of the engineers who job it is to inspects those thousands of bolts the size of a man's forearm on that bridge and he told me that so many of the bolts holding the bridge together had already cracked and needed replacements due to the bad quality Chinese's produced steel used on that bridge. The Chinese sold us a Tofu steel bridge. That bridge will not survive the big one when that earthquake eventually hits.
@@darkbrother8516 Actually wasn't the Bay Bridge a Design Competition, not a lowest bid competition? Think dude who won was one of three contenders, nes pas? Lowest bidder IS a CalTrans thing, but I think this was about a landmark design, not cobbled up by some 2nd rate engineer in Sacramento...yes it was bad steel, yes we replaced it, pity none of that was caught before, and thats where CalTrans failed..I do know how the overuns happened and we haven't even gotten into the political meddliing
It had been many years since I was in sf. And I was just there and drove across this bridge. Interesting. It did nothing to improve traffic only seemed it increase traffic.
The section of the old bridge that fell was designed to do exactly that when under a great stress. This was the joint between the Truss and Cantilever sections. The original designers knew what they were doing, that section was the fuse to prevent the rest of the bridge from being damaged. Any legitiment engineer knows this. The bridge was never in danger as was generally sold to the public. This project, like the high speed rail project, was a payoff to the big political players. There is a reason we now have what is called the double bridgers. People take the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges, avoiding the potentially dangerous new Oakland Bridge.
The welds on the Chinese pre fab sections could not possibly meet specification because, it was documented that the dimensional fit did not meet the specs. The Cal Trans engineer that signed for acceptance was later under investigation by the State Police. The pre fab sections should have been rejected. This design is inferior to a conventional suspension bridge in an earthquake which was criticized when selected. Thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for his “Signature Span” that can not carry transit trains like the one it replaced. It’s a scam from start to the coverup finish.
More than 1/2 of those Local ironworkers don’t know how to weld with NR232 welding wire vertical up more than 2 passes. I’ve been the for 3 years. But they look cool in their outfit😂
if anything questionable arises which it did, someone should be fired, because it’s called accountability, lives are at stake, but being in California, no one ever gets fired, that’s Dems for you.
The fatality was after the earthquake. A motorist got directed the wrong way resulting in the fatal crash. CHP and Caltrans unable to respond to shut down, block, tape dangerous roadways in timely manner.
I understand the concern with overseas fabrication as quality standards are different everywhere. But this didn't come out of a rinky dink company in China, it was the same company that built the world's longest bridge which is 55km long. There issues, but because it was made in China isn't a valid criticism which I see many people have.
The new bridge isn’t earthquake proof they forgot to install the sway plate. It would cost more to fix this than rebuild the bridge. Funny how that story got buried. 😂
It is disgusting that you glossed over what is wrong with this bridge. Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company in China was chosen to build the most complicated bridge ever regardless of the fact it had never built a bridge before only because it was willing to kick back much of the money.
The bridge should have been widened by at least 2x over the original when the section was replaced. Thanks to Schwarzenegger for pushing contracts to China.
Actually, no US companies put in a bid that would use 100% American steel, and within the new section of bridge 75% of it ended up being American. This video is only surface level, a ton of it was made across the US.
Took forever, built in China, already rotting, will need to be replaced relatively soon. My dad was on the old east span when the earthquake hit and the collapse.
If it’s a government construction project, you can be assured now days that there will be corruption involved. The bridge 😢won’t last through a big quake. I’m glad I don’t live in California, even though 😮I was born there.
This new section is STILL unsafe! Unlike the western span, it still doesn't go down to bedrock. So it's still in the same clay that can suffer from liquefaction that was the same issue that allowed the partial collapse of the old bridge. Even if there wasn't shoddy work (which there was), or all of the engineering was sound (which it isn't), maybe they should've learned from the bible and not built the house(bridge) on a foundation of sand(clay)! When the big one hits, it will be the new eastern side that suffers the most damage and may even collapse. I lived in an area that was where the sections for this bridge were kept and floated out down the delta as needed. It was pathetic to see. It didn't give me any confidence in the construction. So if I do ever go to SF, I'm white knuckled driving that side until I'm either on the Oakland land or once I hit YB Island.
Nicely done video. But speaking of the bridge - it is one heck of an eye sore! It wasn't there when I was last in that area in the early 2000's. I don't know who designed that thing, but it is totally out of character with the western span and the Golden Gate. The old truss bridge wasn't exactly beautiful but it was at least a more classic looking style. I understand that they really can't build them like they used to, but if they were going to spend all of that money they could have done better. There is a cable stayed bridge that was built in Greece a few years ago where the designers faced the same problems - powerful earthquakes and unstable foundations. And it is a really neat looking bridge. I don't know what they paid for it, but it does not seem to have this issues that this part of the Bay Bridge does. It seems like they considered function over form in this case, but that's debatable if it will even function as planned during the next big quake. I don't live in CA anymore, but if I was still out there, I'd rather be on the western span of the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge during a big quake than on this one.
One of the bighest slaps in the face to bay area tradesmen. Bult the bridge in china and shipped it over. Major problems from the beginning, bad welds, faulty steel, cast bolts that were supossed to be mechined. Bridge should have been built in the bay by American tradesman. Hate that brodge everytime i see it. Also the bridge is in serious failure. The cast bolts which anchor the main tower to foundation and rusting. They cant stop the rust and one day they will fail. Horrible waste of money will be a disaster in the future.
Why did they use Chinese steel??? Because a powerful US Senator owns 2 steel mills in China. this video barely scratches the surface of the problems with this structure.
Poor choice to use Chinese steel for so many reasons. Politicians responsible were never held accountable. You all know which party dominates California politics. It should be mandatory that all government construction uses steel from American mills.
It’s called treasure island. That other shit you keep saying, no one says in the Bay Area. Lastly, you wanted controversy. Why didn’t you bring up the original S curve where a truck driver passed away and they had to fix the bridge again.
Ok wait hold up, I’ve lived in the Bay Area my whole life and have a great bay view from my house in the east bay. And now I’m genuinely confused as to weather I see the bay bridge or the San Mateo bridge from my window.
If the state went with a new concrete causeway style, they would have spent SIX BILLION LESS than the art project cable span. Imagine how many homeless could have been housed.......
Watching the new bridge be built, and the old one taken down was one of the cool parts of my childhood years. The new one feels so much safer to go across than the old one.
I remember when going across the old one into the city, it was kinda dark on the upper road. The new one is pretty well lit in contrast.
How do you feel safer? The bolts holding the main span to the foundation are rusting and they can't stop it. They will fail one day or the bridge will have to be replaced before they fully fail
The new bridge construction was faulty planned, its parts faulty built, faulty inspected, faulty assembled and faulty installed with some subpar, therefore unsafe materials.
I also still remember the freight truck tragically falling off the the bridge right next to the Yerba Buena Tunnel, simply because it didn’t occur to not one responsible to reduce speed limits neither clearly sign, nor warn about the sharp turn off/into the provisory/temporary part of the bride while building the new one
Sad to say I do not feel any safer crossing this new bridge than crossing the old one.
This bridge was mostly made in China in sections and shipped to the bayarea then welded together. Most all the welds made in china were bad and had to be grinded out and re-welded on location. It would have been cheaper to have made in the US to begin with.
It was welded by meth heads. My friend's step dad welded on the bridge ans he would work 24 hours at a time. He has a sweet drone picture of himself welding on top of the tower and you can see down town Oakland in the background. But I refuse to drive over that bridge.
@@Islandcitymediajust because they did meth doesn’t mean they didn’t weld good
@@2FRESH-4Ubuddy doesn’t know enough industrial welders lol. Meth and coke is their fuel!
@@IslandcitymediaMakes sense!… After being here 1.5-yrs being from Florida, and knowing much of the eastern portion of UsA… Bay area especially east coast of it has so much in common and similarities to areas of KY, OH , IN, etc, where opioids are a problem… Then again i think of the west coasts historical growth and it stems from those areas so makes sense… Hopefully the bridge endures a century atleast
Big Hater lol. Just so you know. China itself has built tons of huge bridges and incredible mega projects across the country, if you just google or search on UA-cam. They all stay super well. They even build bridges in South China Sea, 10 times longer than this. So why Bay Bridge now has issues? The most important thing after you build a big project is the "maintenance". But the US just wants to maintain it by itself and it involves so many malfunctions.. On the other hand, the US has the most strict law on all the industrial imports from China. This is not toys or socks or day-to-day consumptions that you just got from small businesses. This is INFRASTRUCTURE that the US and California have to evaluate, inspect and examine for hundreds of times. So when you are saying the Bay Bridge in the US that China has made is gone bad, it actually means it's not China's problem, but more of the US problem, or more specific, California's problem that has a lot of governmental corruptions. On top of that, more sadly, it also proves the US / California no longer has the capability to build anything by itself nowadays. Only a BIG BUBBLE of a bunch of crappy software companies + the greedy wall street.
My brother worked for a company that bid on weld testing equipment and training for Cal Trans before the weld debacle surfaced, they were going to sell Cal Trans necessary equipment to do weld inspections for 250k extremely cheap considering how much the work stoppage cost the project after the scandal surfaced. Cal Trans decided that the equipment my brother was offering wasn’t necessary, as a potential contractor a journalist from the San Francisco Chronicle contacted my brother for an interview about his bidding for that job. Long story short, pay a little to save a lot goes long ways in insuring safety of everyone, and yea my brother was most concerned about the steel used for the road deck surface that is covered by concrete in the construction process.
I can't believe it's been a decade already. And that it took like 15 years to build. I knew the old span for 15 or so years before the new span was started. Then for 15 years watching the new span be built. And finally I've forgotten all but about 15% of the old span.
Just rode on this bridge last night and had dinner in sf. Cool video
i don't live near by, but have been across it for sure. I always wished it would have a walking path on the sides
@@boohere2 yes. It sure does have a walking path but only from the Oakland side to treasure Island which is the island between Oakland and San Francisco. The path does not take you all the way to SF but you can definitely walk across the new bridge.
As a result of this bridge and other bridge work, the toll went from $1 in the 90s, when I lived there, to $2 at the start of the 2000s. Now the toll is $8.
It was a temporary increase
do you want a bridge or not?
@@JonahStein lmao “temporary”
@@NickDipples2014 The toll will never go down even when the bridge is paid off. The Golden Gate was paid off over 50 years ago. When I was there it was $2 to cross, now it's $9.25.
@@gtv6chuck it's mainly for maintaince, the spending has to come from somewhere.
so it was paid off for building it only.
I knew a few welders and iron workers who worked on these bridge. They aren’t lying.
Underrated channel. Good job!
I happened to be visiting the area just before this new span was opened. At that time I learned of the immanent failure of the old span were there to be an earthquake of 4.5 or greater. I was shacked that everyone had continued to use the old bridge after this was disclosed. I opted to take the long way around!
I also decided to extend my trip in order to be one of the first to drive across the new bridge when it opened.
It really was amazing how quickly the construction was able to disconnect the old bridge and connect the new one to the tunnel which took place over labor day weekend. They actually finished hours ahead of schedule!
that area routinely gets 4.5 or greater. I know I live here.
Wonderful to ride on, especially at night. Feels safer than the old bridge, which always seemed weak and flimsy.
things in the SF Bay Area have to be built right and tough and that is not cheap - That is why more people were killed when a condo in Florida collapsed under its own weight than in the last major earthquake to hit the Bay Area
Are you aware of what the millennium tower is?
@@Lumber91 You know how much monitoring they're doing on the MT? If it was Florida they'd just ignore it and let it fall
They picked the worst design choice for the bottom structure which was the most expensive to build and maintain.
A simple levee extension and ramped viaduct like the Sam Mateo bridge would have cost 1/4 the price, would have been safer would have not obstructed the skyline and would have been much cheaper to maintain.
@@946towguy2 Yeah levees and shipping lanes don't really go together that well. Creative idea tho
@@Lumber91- The Millenium Tower is not in danger of collapsing.
Later on, the Left Coast Lifter was moved to New York state and was utilized in the construction of the replacement bridge for the Tappen Zee Bridge, and some of the removal of sections of the old Tappen Zee Bridge. They did not officially rename the barge crane for fear of creating bad luck that sometimes happens when a boat or ship is renamed. But they did nickname it "I Lift NY"
This is incredibly informative and well done! Thanks so much, can you please please please do the Richmond/San Rafael bridge? There’s a lot of talk about it in the Metro public meetings I’d be curious to hear your take on the history and is current status
The Richmond San Rafael Bridge feels like its been under repair for the last 20 years now. It is the bridge I least want to be on if a major quake hits.
I lived in North Oakland at the time of construction. I'll never forget hearing them pounding in the pylons into the bedrock on Saturday mornings when I just wanted to sleep in. It's worth either being on a boat in the bay to get a view or taking a gander from Treasure Island. It's a beautiful bridge.
It's actually $7 for the toll for a standard auto.
Yes, its a very beautiful structure, especially at night when going west bound popping out of the YB tunnel, and immediately seeing the immense tower and soaring cables bathed in LED lighting...its really impressive and never gets old!
@@acuras86 At night its awesome
@@caryrogers9676 Funny how the fees go up to improve construction but never go back down when its paid off
How does $250 million cost turns into a $6.5 BILLION someone got screwed and it's the taxpayers, and they didn't even deliver a top notch bridge. And again even with delays (actually even with many delays) and changes and this and that, it is crazy that the $250 million bridge mutated into the equivalent of 26 bridges worth of cost but for just one, and came problems.
And who is jail? Nobody, the politicians put on a good act and got their kickbacks, the private industry made sure to markup everything at a bargain of just 2000% and up. Everyone got what they wanted and left the bill behind for us.
The Dream.
It was never going to cost 250 million dollars in the first place. I can’t believe they even said that lol
I remember about 10-15 years ago my cousin and I would ride our bikes up and down the old bridge when attending college (cheaper to commute from the East Bay at the time), during construction and massive traffic jam my cousin got hit on that old section prior to Treasure Island while we we're splitting lanes. Low Speeds so no major injuries, just a cracked oil pan and someone's hood got dented because that's where he landed. That s-turn before the tunnel on T.I. had commuters in a strangle hold for decades! LOL It's still hell during commuting hours, but a much NICER ride across The Bay!
I remember the Loma Prieta earthquake. Great video and the bridge design seems to be quite decent.Considering that the Hayward fault might cut loose. In about 10 years time I just heard from 7CB seismologists with a 7.1 to 7.6
They've been predicting a quake on the Hayward "in the next 10 years" for over 30 years. Do with that information what you will
I heard the same about the Hayward fault 30 years ago. It will happen one day, but take those 10 year "predictions" with a grain of salt, it has more to do with how they compute the probability of a quake over a 10 year window than a statement about a quake actually expected within 10 years time. And most of these bridges are designed to take 9+ magnitude shaking, although there are some unique geological features of the Bay Area that could result in localized shaking more intense than one would expect given a quakes magnitude, so nothing is 100% quake proof. But, these designed were vetted, tested, questioned, retested and vetted some more during construction and the span type is far safer than its predecessor.
4:22 That's amazing. In Hawaii it takes 2 years to renovate a traffic circle.
I remember when the Union welders said the steel from China was inferior to USA steel
It is, but it met the specification.
American steel is generally considered to be safer, stronger, and more reliable than Chinese steel
@@HammerOn-bu7gx No, it did not. It was just marked as meeting specs. Thousands of bolts had to be replaced and only the fact that the bridge was designed with a safety factor for severe earthquakes makes it safe for everyday use. It is inferior in almost every way to the bridge it replaced.
It’s inferior and it will fail. Nothing coming from China is meant to be reliable and long lasting.
All these asinine comments talking about San Francisco lol.
It's crazy . You can't even watch a video on San Francisco without hearing people not even from San Francisco whining about it. They're obsessed
@@craftedheimhow bout this:
I’m from the bay, and SF is a shit hole with re*tard politics
I live across the Bay from San Francisco and used to go over there often. I don't anymore. It's a mess. The downtown shopping district has been abandoned by many businesses. The restaurants I liked are gone. You may say what you want about it, as far as I am concerned.
Oakland is a dump, too, but I live here so try to make the best of it.
We're used to it. Cable "news" channels like to come to the Tenderloin, film some human misery, and then spin it for whatever their slant is. None of them care about my city or actually getting to know it and its people. I have no patience for any of them.
@@GH-oi2jf Oakland is a foodie town.
I love tire circular tire tracks on the roadbed as evidence of the "sideshows" from the night before.. lol..
A gross extravagance. A perfectly good bridge could have been built for a couple of billion, But then-mayors Jerry Brown (of Oakland) and Willie Brown (of San Francisco) wanted a signature bridge.
Any other design would have faced heavy opposition from the port and military, the large span was forced in
Don’t forget Arnold as governor pushing it very hard too …
Arnold Schwarzenegger is responsible for the “Signature Span” with delays and quality issues. Mayor’s Willie Brown and Jerry came out against the design because, it couldn’t carry transit trains like the original could. I rode a train on the Bay Bridge in 1958.
i live in the bay for all my life, and i've never heard it called YBI... mainly we call it treasure island.
I can only count a few decades but never hear that YBI either.... am I missing something?
@ nope… person making the video isn’t familiar with our geography
I remember when it was 25 cents in each direction! The promise was that it would be free once the bonds were paid off, oh well…I was able to access the bridge under construction and have many pics of various stages. There are secrets in terms of construction flaws, not what is in this video, that might be exploited by terrorist so I won’t reveal them here. There’s also some things related to tech in the bridge that would blow peoples mind but would be irresponsible to discuss here. I argued with cal-trans on a major issue and needless to say I lost, I just hope it doesn’t bite us in the ass…
Very good video keep up the quality work!
Wow, that's quite the increase! It’s crazy how much tolls can rise over the years, especially with all the infrastructure changes. Guess the price of progress really adds up!
No, toll increases were voted in and your price/progress is vague and difficult to correlate into a cognitive thought.
@@thegreenpickel thank you
It worth noting that the Golden Gate Bridge (4 yrs, 4 months) was completed ahead of schedule and under budget. and built without computers.
I thank God everyday, that I was born and raised in the Bay.🎉❤
I spoke to a bridge inspector when they completed the bridge, and he said the old bridge was stronger. He said to him it was a waste of money. I met a bunch of good people when I was a AAA driver...
Commuting on that bridge during construction was horrible. Anyone who drove should remember that S-curve leading in/out of TI. A semi truck was driving too fast, approaching the S-curve into the TI tunnel. It crashed the side and then flipped over, and the driver was killed. Also remember when BART union went on strike the only way to commute into SF was the BB, the Dumbarton bridge, or take the 580 Richmond bridge to get around.
Yo do the Los Angeles downtown bridge - it’s looks and feels awesome but already had terrible problems
I used to build gas stations… relatively tiny compared to a bridge but man it would be awesome to see some real big iron be erected
Sadly, we in the S.F. Bay Area under the poor decision making of the MTC idiots bought Chinese steel apparently - very brittle - we expect that a big quake will make it snap/fall. Something about zinc in the steel or something. It caused rapid rusting we were told. Is it true? Not sure. But, it is a truly beautiful design and is so much more pleasant to drive over than the old one was.
It's not a steel problem, it's a bedrock problem
There was not much of a choice on the steel. China had a practical monopoly on production at that time and standing up a domestic option was far more expensive. As for snapping or falling, not overly likely, the design has a decent safety margin. And many forget but, the prior bridge was snapping on its own - the thing was under lots of stress from no longer being in the right alignment post the 1989 quake. A handful of large components snapped off, including one that killed a driver.
Beyond that lots of tall tales about quality issues and other things were circulated for political purpose but very few actually proved valid concerns. They need to "bite the bullet" and replace the Richmond - San Rafael Bridge too, but less use so low priority. But its really the last of those truss designs left over the bay and like the old bay bridge segment, under constant repair because its past its useful lifespan.
"very brittle", don't be naive, don't believe everything you read, all the parts from China were built to spec per contract/requirement or they would have been rejected.
It costs about $1 billion dollar for the new owner of the TransAmerican building in San Francisco to be fully remodeled and upgraded the TransAmerican Iconic building. When you put the cost of construction in the San Francisco Bay Area of California in that context, $6.5 billions to build a modern earth quake proof bridge that spans multiple miles and will lasts 100 years, seems like a bargain.
wasn't the bridge supposed to cost only $2 billion originally?
This is a government contract, and if you have any experience with government contracts, you will know that the game is play by bidding low to win the contract to build the bridge. Then once you won the bid to build the bridge, you renegotiates the contract for more money and more time. The price of that bridge is not what should be concerning the tax payers. i talked to one of the engineers who job it is to inspects those thousands of bolts the size of a man's forearm on that bridge and he told me that so many of the bolts holding the bridge together had already cracked and needed replacements due to the bad quality Chinese's produced steel used on that bridge. The Chinese sold us a Tofu steel bridge. That bridge will not survive the big one when that earthquake eventually hits.
@@darkbrother8516 Actually wasn't the Bay Bridge a Design Competition, not a lowest bid competition? Think dude who won was one of three contenders, nes pas? Lowest bidder IS a CalTrans thing, but I think this was about a landmark design, not cobbled up by some 2nd rate engineer in Sacramento...yes it was bad steel, yes we replaced it, pity none of that was caught before, and thats where CalTrans failed..I do know how the overuns happened and we haven't even gotten into the political meddliing
It had been many years since I was in sf. And I was just there and drove across this bridge. Interesting. It did nothing to improve traffic only seemed it increase traffic.
Bridges are cool.
The section of the old bridge that fell was designed to do exactly that when under a great stress. This was the joint between the Truss and Cantilever sections. The original designers knew what they were doing, that section was the fuse to prevent the rest of the bridge from being damaged. Any legitiment engineer knows this. The bridge was never in danger as was generally sold to the public. This project, like the high speed rail project, was a payoff to the big political players. There is a reason we now have what is called the double bridgers. People take the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges, avoiding the potentially dangerous new Oakland Bridge.
It would not have been so expensive if Governator had not made changes mid build
$6 billion with interest payback is $12 billion!!
Treasure Island***
The welds on the Chinese pre fab sections could not possibly meet specification because, it was documented that the dimensional fit did not meet the specs. The Cal Trans engineer that signed for acceptance was later under investigation by the State Police. The pre fab sections should have been rejected. This design is inferior to a conventional suspension bridge in an earthquake which was criticized when selected. Thank Arnold Schwarzenegger for his “Signature Span” that can not carry transit trains like the one it replaced. It’s a scam from start to the coverup finish.
didn't they renovated it 10 years ago?
My father, an iron worker, helped build the original bay bridge
congratulations!
Is that why they finally started building on Yerba Buena Island?
More than 1/2 of those Local ironworkers don’t know how to weld with NR232 welding wire vertical up more than 2 passes. I’ve been the for 3 years. But they look cool in their outfit😂
if anything questionable arises which it did, someone should be fired, because it’s called accountability, lives are at stake, but being in California, no one ever gets fired, that’s Dems for you.
Chinese contractor doing substandard work? SHOCKING! 😂
Some feedback: It is impossible to read long captions while you narrate.
The fatality was after the earthquake. A motorist got directed the wrong way resulting in the fatal crash. CHP and Caltrans unable to respond to shut down, block, tape dangerous roadways in timely manner.
I understand the concern with overseas fabrication as quality standards are different everywhere. But this didn't come out of a rinky dink company in China, it was the same company that built the world's longest bridge which is 55km long. There issues, but because it was made in China isn't a valid criticism which I see many people have.
nobody says YBI like that. It's just Yerba Buena Island.
The new bridge isn’t earthquake proof they forgot to install the sway plate. It would cost more to fix this than rebuild the bridge. Funny how that story got buried. 😂
Am I the only one who noticed that at 3:12, the traffic is moving BACKWARDS?? You folks who put these AI videos together need to check your work.
are you a progressive type?
I enjoy when you can reflect on good things that happened in the past. give it a try.
Just cover your plates before you go over the bridge!!😊
They’ll get your VIN number, don’t ask me how I know 😂
YBI? Who says that? No one says that. It's just Yerba Buena Island.
Or, Treasure Island.
@@SPR_NAPALM Treasure Island is what the Navy built, the artificial island attached to Yerba Buena.
If only the 280 could directly connect to the bay bridge
Why didn't they use US steel?! Grew up there but left in 1975, watched the construction ideas.
It will be one of those Tufo buildings in China if that will be the case.
Nothing about the collars that failed and had to be replaced and reinforced?
Monday-Friday mornings. it takes an hour to cross
6.4 going into the pockets of politicians
Some day, I hope we build AMERICAN MADE STRUCTURES.
I mean the bridge is not as safe as the old one but what are we gonna do to get across use a raft lol🤣🤣
You didn't mention the bridge troll!
I remember Governor Schwarzenegger wanting us to live with a false tower. WE voted for a tower that was not fake for a few more dollars. . .
The cars are going so fast they are moving backwards.
You should see the toll it collects.
Toll time limit is coming to a close so a rebuild is needed to keep the toll going. What a rip off.
I worry as they used Chinese steel.
Actually, 75% of the steel in the new section of bridge was American made
why worry, built to spec even the Chinese steel, you know there is qc and inspections.
They need to tear down that bridge for no reason
The "Built in China Bridge". Massive , cost and quality problems.
I still haven't found the troll.
3:12 Why are cars going backwards?
It is disgusting that you glossed over what is wrong with this bridge. Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company in China was chosen to build the most complicated bridge ever regardless of the fact it had never built a bridge before only because it was willing to kick back much of the money.
The bridge should have been widened by at least 2x over the original when the section was replaced. Thanks to Schwarzenegger for pushing contracts to China.
Actually, no US companies put in a bid that would use 100% American steel, and within the new section of bridge 75% of it ended up being American. This video is only surface level, a ton of it was made across the US.
@@TowerCrisis That might be because so much was defective and had to be replaced.
Looks great, Hopefully, they can keep the side shows and morons
Everything cost over a billion dollars now 🤦🏽♂️
Took forever, built in China, already rotting, will need to be replaced relatively soon.
My dad was on the old east span when the earthquake hit and the collapse.
If it’s a government construction project, you can be assured now days that there will be corruption involved. The bridge 😢won’t last through a big quake. I’m glad I don’t live in California, even though 😮I was born there.
The weak part of the bridge is still standing, they spent 6.5 billion dollars to make the ugly part look nice a total waste.
This new section is STILL unsafe! Unlike the western span, it still doesn't go down to bedrock. So it's still in the same clay that can suffer from liquefaction that was the same issue that allowed the partial collapse of the old bridge. Even if there wasn't shoddy work (which there was), or all of the engineering was sound (which it isn't), maybe they should've learned from the bible and not built the house(bridge) on a foundation of sand(clay)! When the big one hits, it will be the new eastern side that suffers the most damage and may even collapse.
I lived in an area that was where the sections for this bridge were kept and floated out down the delta as needed. It was pathetic to see. It didn't give me any confidence in the construction. So if I do ever go to SF, I'm white knuckled driving that side until I'm either on the Oakland land or once I hit YB Island.
Nicely done video. But speaking of the bridge - it is one heck of an eye sore! It wasn't there when I was last in that area in the early 2000's. I don't know who designed that thing, but it is totally out of character with the western span and the Golden Gate. The old truss bridge wasn't exactly beautiful but it was at least a more classic looking style. I understand that they really can't build them like they used to, but if they were going to spend all of that money they could have done better. There is a cable stayed bridge that was built in Greece a few years ago where the designers faced the same problems - powerful earthquakes and unstable foundations. And it is a really neat looking bridge. I don't know what they paid for it, but it does not seem to have this issues that this part of the Bay Bridge does.
It seems like they considered function over form in this case, but that's debatable if it will even function as planned during the next big quake. I don't live in CA anymore, but if I was still out there, I'd rather be on the western span of the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge during a big quake than on this one.
What’s a scam from the government systems
Liked
One of the bighest slaps in the face to bay area tradesmen. Bult the bridge in china and shipped it over. Major problems from the beginning, bad welds, faulty steel, cast bolts that were supossed to be mechined. Bridge should have been built in the bay by American tradesman. Hate that brodge everytime i see it. Also the bridge is in serious failure. The cast bolts which anchor the main tower to foundation and rusting. They cant stop the rust and one day they will fail. Horrible waste of money will be a disaster in the future.
It will not last the test of time and will need to be replaced in less than 30 years.
Why did they use Chinese steel??? Because a powerful US Senator owns 2 steel mills in China. this video barely scratches the surface of the problems with this structure.
Your video moves backward during the moment ~3.25
Maybe they should turn treasure island into a penal colony for all the career criminals running the bay area now.
The bridge takes you from one shet hole to a much worse shet hole and it will cost you $8
Poor choice to use Chinese steel for so many reasons. Politicians responsible were never held accountable. You all know which party dominates California politics. It should be mandatory that all government construction uses steel from American mills.
It’s called treasure island. That other shit you keep saying, no one says in the Bay Area. Lastly, you wanted controversy. Why didn’t you bring up the original S curve where a truck driver passed away and they had to fix the bridge again.
I gotta say, if you want to increase your following, you gotta work on that monotone and make sure you're pronouncing words right...
Loma Pree et ugh
Who will pay for this? CA keeps finding ways to suck $ out of hardworking people…
PORK! Oink.
computer voice over, not good
So the new bridge is “anchored” in mud not bed rock like the old bridge. This shit design will be in the drink when the big one hits
Ok wait hold up, I’ve lived in the Bay Area my whole life and have a great bay view from my house in the east bay. And now I’m genuinely confused as to weather I see the bay bridge or the San Mateo bridge from my window.
If the state went with a new concrete causeway style, they would have spent SIX BILLION LESS than the art project cable span. Imagine how many homeless could have been housed.......
Did spending 6 Billion dollars make Oakland a better city?
@@jimliu2560 Yes, now it has a new bridge
They would've wasted it in other ways...
@@ChrisNoonetheFirst
By your logic, you should buy a Ferrari …..then you will have a beautiful Ferrari….!
@@jimliu2560 Did my last Ferrari fall apart in an earthquake? If so then I should get a new one