New Bay Bridge’s Problems With Cracking Fasteners | KQED Public Media for Northern CA

Article by · 2013/05/14 ·

Tara Siler, Host:  The Federal Highway Administration said it will investigate why more than 30 steel seismic safety rods on the new Bay Bridge snapped when they were tightened into place — and how the state plans to fix the problem. Bridge officials requested the federal review.  On Tuesday, a State Senate committee will get an update on the new span’s construction, and the issues plaguing the $6.4 billion project.

Meanwhile, a story in the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend revealed that more than 400 other steel rods located at the base of the span’s tower could also be vulnerable to cracking because they were galvanized in a way that makes them more susceptible to something called hydrogen embrittlement.(…)

via New Bay Bridge’s Problems With Cracking Fasteners | KQED Public Media for Northern CA.