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Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009
Our View: Safety over speed on Bay Bridge repairs
Looking back on Labor Day work, maybe more time should have been taken.
State highway officials say high winds and traffic vibrations caused a patch on the cantilevered section of the San Francisco Bay Bridge to fail.
That's scary. High winds and traffic vibrations are hardly abnormal conditions for the Bay Bridge.
Three sections of the support system crashed onto the roadway of the bridge's eastern span, between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island, hitting three cars during Tuesday's evening commute.
Miraculously, no one was killed. Authorities immediately closed the Bay Area's busiest bridge to traffic indefinitely. They hoped repairs could be completed and the bridge reopened Wednesday, but as of this morning the bridge remains closed and officials are still unsure when it will reopen.
Bay Area commuters will be happy if relief comes by Friday, but that can't be the end of the inquiry by highway officials.
Traffic vibrations are a constant presence for this bridge and high winds are common.
Officials say workers failed to properly reinforce the crack that was found and repaired during the Labor Day bridge closure two months ago.
How could that happen?
The crack, found during a federally mandated structural inspection of the bridge, took highway officials by surprise.
It was discovered just as crews were preparing to install a 288-foot S-turn, part of the Bay Bridge's seismic upgrade following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Repair crews worked 70 hours nonstop to get the bridge reopened following the Labor Day closure. Transportation officials praised workers for their "exceptional dedication" and "teamwork."
Looking back, highway officials must wonder if getting the job done quickly sacrificed safety and thoroughness.
The Bay Bridge is an essential transportation link, not just for Oakland and San Francisco, but all of Northern California.
Much harsher winds will blow if state officials don't get to the bottom of this serious mishap and take steps to prevent a similar one in the future.
Editorials are the opinion of the Merced Sun-Star editorial board. Members of the editorial board include Publisher Hank Vander Veen, Executive Editor Mike Tharp, Editorial Page Editor Keith Jones, Copy Desk Chief Jesse Chenault and Online Editor Brandon Bowers.
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