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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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7

Latest SF Bridge Snafu Sparks Fear, Anger

Commuter inconvenience only most immediate after cable snaps

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(Newser) – Today’s revelation that high winds caused a recent repair to come undone and shut down the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for 24 hours—and counting—has area commuters worried not only for their safety but also about how well state officials are spending tax dollars in the ongoing construction of a second span. That project, begun after the 1989 earthquake, was supposed to be done by 2004 for $1.3 billion; that ETA is now 2013, for $7.2 billion.

“I thought I was going into the Bay,” a woman whose car spun out after she swerved to avoid tumbling debris from a repair job that shut the bridge down over Labor Day weekend tells the AP. “I have lost so much confidence in the experts, the millions of dollars that are being spent to reconstruct and build a new bridge.”

Crews repair parts of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge today. The bridge has been closed indefinitely.
Crews repair parts of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge today. The bridge has been closed indefinitely.   (AP Photo)
Crews work on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco today.
Crews work on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco today.   (AP Photo)
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge remained closed through today's evening commute.
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge remained closed through today's evening commute.   (AP Photo)
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kyleleitch
Oct 28, 09 9:04 PM CDT
"I have lost so much confidence in the experts..." Not that hard to do anymore... and considering how out of control transportation spending is in this country. We never bothered to maintain the infrastructure a long time ago, and now it's literally crumbling around us. Reply
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Rocket448
Oct 28, 09 10:11 PM CDT
That's the shameful truth, our infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate with no concern for people's lives. There's plenty of blame to go around; any elected official who is unwilling to raise taxes to maintain infrastructure is tempting fate in hopes of re-election.
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kyleleitch
Oct 29, 09 2:21 PM CDT
And that's what's REALLY sad. People are so opposed to paying a little more in taxes for things that they actually USE!
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cornelison
Oct 28, 09 11:19 PM CDT
There are numerous civil engineering books on structural forensics. You'd think that with all the technology they would be able to avoid this. It would be no surprise that something else is at play here. Reply
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ultramarine13
Oct 28, 09 11:56 PM CDT
There is; the political plays at work behind the scenes. Politicians love to be seen opening new bridges or breaking ground on new buildings because people love to see that and think that said politician is doing something. As a result, maintenance becomes badly underfunded and repairs aren't made until something actually breaks.
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