Tenderloin Tech Lab Takes A Tour Of The New Bay Bridge

After the devastation that 1989 earthquake had on the Bay Bridge, rather than simply retrofit the bridge it was decided that an entirely new structure would be needed in order to protect against future quakes. On Friday, August 20th, the staff at the Tenderloin Tech Lab took a boat tour of the new Bay Bridge currently under construction. Cal Trans, the government agency responsible for overseeing the development of the bridge, hosted the half day tour.

For those who have not yet seen the sections of the new bridge that have been put in place, they are a sight to see. The ‘skyway’, a section of the bridge which extends from the Oakland mudflats, will connect to the Self-Anchored Suspension Span on the north side of Yerba Buena Island. The skyway itself is comprised of two separate highways, one northbound and one southbound, that together contain over 200 million tons of steel. It is quite an experience to witness such a remarkable thing in the process of it’s creation. The completed bridge will have two 15.5 foot pedestrian bike lanes, a new and welcome upgrade, that will finally open up movement between the East side of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. Although the bridge is still a few years away from completion, it is an exciting moment to be able to watch the development of such an integral component of the San Francisco Bay Area.