A report by the Sacramento Bee has uncovered numerous inconsistencies in the construction of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, which could indicate the structure is unsafe in the event of an earthquake.
Records provided to the newspaper by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) indicate one particular section of concrete may not be up to safety standards. The concrete was used in the base of the main span's tower.
The newspaper began following the story after it was revealed that a Caltrans employee had skipped important test preparation steps on several areas of the bridge. The employee may have fabricated test results on other aspects of the bridge's construction as well. The employee was fired in November, at which point the newspaper asked Caltrans for records of the Bay Bridge construction.
The $177-million bridge was undertaken Kiewit-FCI-Manson, an Oakland joint venture. However, the records obtained by the newspaper may indicate numerous errors in the construction of the bridge. Most troubling is the foundation for the bridge's main span tower, which may include concrete that did not harden properly. If this were the case, the bridge could potentially be susceptible to a major disaster, such as an earthquake.
Other inconsistencies included errors in the tests with regards to measurements and dating. Caltrans says they were happy with the construction company's work and believe the bridge is safe.
"We are confident in the structural integrity of the main tower foundation and that the bridge will perform as designed to handle an extreme earthquake," Caltrans spokesman Tamie McGowen told the newspaper.
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