After a brief glimmer of hope, prospects for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge opening over the Labor Day weekend appear to be fading fast — if they aren’t dead already.
“Let’s be clear — Labor Day is not back on the table,” said Caltrans spokesman Andrew Gordon.
Not for lack of trying, however.
The chances of a Labor Day opening seemed to have been revived earlier this month, when a member of Caltrans’ seismic safety peer review panel said that while contractors are installing fixes for two seismic safety devices rendered useless by 32 broken high-strength rods, the agency could make a simple change to two other devices that would make the bridge safe in an earthquake.
The quick-fix plan called for installing steel plates between bearings to prevent them from swiveling. That would limit bridge movement in an earthquake and maybe even allow the span to open over Labor Day, the thinking went.
Meanwhile, work on the long-term fix for the two seismic safety devices, known as shear keys, would continue.
Caltrans officials decided to turn to the full seismic review panel and the Federal Highway Administration for their opinion on whether the temporary fix would make the new span safe enough to open to the public. Gordon said their reports could be ready by mid-August.
Others, however, are not so optimistic. And even if the fix gets the double blessing, officials would have to give a couple of weeks’ notice of the four-day shutdown needed to attach the new span to Yerba Buena Island.
However, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — the local panel that oversees the whole project and is mostly made up of elected officials — has gone on summer break and won’t return until after Labor Day.
In other words, forget about it.
For more M&R — including the skinny on BART GM Grace Crunican’s airport parking and taxi rides, and why Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid is mulling a run for mayor — read here.
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