InBerkeley

Despite some dire warnings of potential bridge collapse, the Bay Bridge seismic retrofit is proceeding smoothly [see UPDATE below].  Yesterday, one section of the existing span was cut out and moved laterally out of the way, and today a new 660-meter, 36,000-ton steel section was put in its place. Work continues to attach the new and old roadways by the Tuesday morning deadline.

The Dutch firm Mammoet is the subcontractor actually responsible for moving the old structure out and the new structure in place.  Once this detour is operational, it will create the room needed for the new Bay Bridge to enter the tunnel in its current alignment.

The primary contractor on this job is CC Myers, the same construction company that did the amazing job of replacing the I-580 overpass at the MacArthur Maze after a tanker truck explosion and fire caused the old overpass to collapse. CC Myers was also responsible for replacing another 348-foot section of Bay Bridge span nearer to the Yerba Buena tunnel one year ago.

24-hour live video of the construction work can be seen here (web) and here (wmv). You can also follow the progress on Twitter.

UPDATE: KGO-TV news is reporting that Caltrans crews have found a significant crack in an existing Bay Bridge support beam, a steel link, and repairs may keep the bridge closed beyond Tuesday. From the looks of it, I’d say well beyond Tuesday unless a quick fix can be applied.

The cause of the break in this supporting link structure is not known at this time, but would seem to be due to additional stress caused by the removal of the old section of the span. There had been reports of quite a bit of loud moaning and groaning by the structure when the old span was removed yesterday.

Further Update: Apparently, this crack or break in what is called an I-bar on the bridge structure just east of the current construction work has been there for some time, well before this weekend, and is so significant that had it been discovered earlier it would have closed the entire bridge on its own. (I knew there was a reason I always drove fast over that bridge when possible.) CalTrans is mobilizing contractors and materials to repair the crack, but it is far from certain, perhaps unlikely, that the bridge will reopen on Tuesday as scheduled.

Sunday Morning Update: Someone at the BayBridgeInfo organization posted this on Twitter: “Cracked bar has not posed a threat to drivers, other beams supported bridge section.” Obviously, the bridge didn’t collapse, and so one would assume the load normally carried by this cracked I-bar was distributed to other components of the bridge structure. That’s the way these things are supposed to be designed. No single point of failure. But if this failure is now being judged significant enough to have closed the entire bridge had it been detected earlier, I can’t say this statement is very reassuring.

Steel for the fix is coming from Stinger Welding in Arizona. These are the same guys who very quickly fabricated the steel girders needed for the replacement overpass on I-580 at the MacArthur Maze, another CC Myers project, so if anyone can get this job done in time, it’s them. All I can say is it’s a good thing they’re not closed for the holiday weekend.

Sunday Afternoon Update: Once again, Stinger Welding has come through with a minor miracle. They’ve fabricated the new part necessary for the repair and shipped from their facility in Arizona it in under 24 hours.  The new part arrived at Oakland airport at 1 p.m. this afternoon, and was on-site at 2 p.m.  Caltrans says it is physically possible to get the repair done and open the bridge Tuesday morning, but won’t commit to that, yet.  Stress testing still needs to be performed on the part, which then must be installed. Still things that could go wrong. Expect to hear more on the bridge opening tomorrow.

Meanwhile, work on the new detour section continues.  All joint work connecting the new section to the original bridge and detour is finished. Striping of the new section is underway, barrier rails are being installed and utility/electrical work is underway.

Monday Morning Update: Inspections and other pre-installation work has been completed on the “saddle” being used to repair the cracked link. Now workers have started putting it into place, but this is a complex, time-consuming process, and we won’t have a definitive word on whether or not the Bay Bridge will open at 5 a.m. tomorrow until 5 p.m. today, when Caltrans has scheduled another press briefing.  The other work on the detour is on schedule, and doesn’t seem to be a factor on the opening time. Caltrans is recommending that people have a plan B for their commute tomorrow.

Monday Afternoon Update: CC Myers may have won the battle of getting the detour on the Bay Bridge completed on time, but they lost the war to reopen the bridge by 5 a.m. Tuesday morning due to the unexpected discovery of a failing I-bar on another part of the bridge.

The Bay Bridge will be closed one additional day.  Caltrans has just announced the expected reopening of the Bay Bridge Wednesday morning at 5 a.m., 24 hours later than originally planned.

General, Transportation

GO BEARS! Overheard on the Twitterstream today:

jaspaldesign: met 84 year old food chemist at Picante in Berkeley who explained fake crab, boxed wine, olive garden recipes, and beechwood-aged.

t3chnicolorbrit: Note to self- don’t go to another Berkeley game unless thoroughly hammered.

JosiahMarkP: Cal Bears beating Maryland in a manner that is outlawed in thirty seven states.

joebrilliant: Turtle wax on, turtle wax off. Cal Bears exact revenge on Maryland Terrapins by eating them alive, 52-13. Level 1: complete. Roll On!

Berkeley Tweets, General

A recent tweet from Kcecelia got me curious about a place she had referred to as the Berkeley Bulb, which I had never heard of before even though I’ve lived in this area now for 26 years.  Googling the phrase turned up a few references to it, but it turned out that most didn’t really provide much information. Finally, I discovered this article on SFGate from four years ago.

It wasn’t the Berkeley Bulb, but the Albany Bulb. I must have driven right by this place hundreds of times over the years, never thinking there was much out there besides a parking lot for the racetrack. While I watched them dumping trash at the Berkeley Marina and then turn it into Cesar Chavez Park, I had no idea that another dumping ground nearby had met a similar, though less refined, fate.

Read more…

Art, General, In the wild, Nature, Recreation

Pop-up stores are in — but you knew that already — and a delightful one has just appeared in The Elmwood, taking the front space of the equally delightful Trips Out Travel store.

Designer Donna Allman has amassed a wonderful trove of decorative and useful items over the years and is doing a clear-out. There are delicate packets of Japanese silver leaf, for $10 if memory serves, beautiful buttons, odd rolls of pretty 1950s wallpaper and drawer pulls from $5 to $10.

Picture nails have been one of Allman’s specialties at her business Lilac Bow Yoke.  A decorative button attached to a nail, they were used in Victorian times to hang paintings. Martha Stewart liked them so much she featured two of Allman’s designs in her catalog.

I liked the black and white ones with old-fashioned illustrations of kitchen utensils and clocks.

Allman is a friend of the owner of Trips Out, which by the way has been dispensing travel advice in the same spot for more than 40 years. She will be displaying her wares on Saturdays and Sundays from about noon to 5pm for the foreseeable future (an element of surprise being de rigueur with pop-up stores).

[Photo: www.elmwoodshop.com]

Retail, The Elmwood Donna Allman, Pop-up store, The Elmwood, Trips Out Travel