BAY AREA / Chunks of bridge to be cut to check By Jim Zamora, San Francisco Chronicle
Feds conduct most extensive tests on alleged faulty welds
Caltrans said the sections of steel would be removed from one foundation pier where former employees alleged that faulty welds had been covered up intentionally. At the request of FBI investigators, Caltrans and federal officials would not say exactly how many portions would be removed or which of the four foundation piers still under construction would be involved in the process.
The work is called 'destructive testing' because portions of the bridge foundation are removed.