Completion of Bay Bridge relies on concrete segments By Alec Rosenberg, Oakland Tribune, CA
Workers here are producing a record crop -- 452 roadway segments for the Bay Bridge's new eastern span, each standing three stories tall and weighing as much as nine fully loaded Boeing 737 jet airplanes. Even the crane to move them is massive, weighing 500 tons and able to lift 800 tons.
Everything about the new Bay Bridge is on a grand scale, with some of the biggest work taking place off San Francisco Bay.
It's in Stockton, where the roadway segments are being made in 480- to 780-ton pieces. It's along the Bay shore, where 50,000 tons of riprap, 72,000 cubic yards of fill and 34,000 earthquake drains are stabilizing mud for the new bridge's approach. It's on Yerba Buena Island, where one of the tower's foundations has been built and a tricky temporary detour is under construction.