Caltrans: Bay Bridge Repair Could Cost $10 Million; Hopes For Scheduled Labor Day Opening

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The planned repair for seismic safety rods that snapped on the new span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge could cost between $5 million to $10 million, a state transportation official said on Wednesday.

California Transportation Commission Executive Director Andre Boutros told a meeting of the Bay Area Toll Authority that repair officials plan to go ahead with a fix for the 32 rods that failed, which involves installing a steel saddle.

The saddle would be placed over the broken rods and held in place with steel cables that would be covered up with concrete so they wouldn't be seen, he said. Another repair option would have been more expensive.

Officials are still hopeful they can open the bridge on schedule on Labor Day.

The rods connect steel earthquake safety devices called shear keys to the deck of the bridge and a large concrete cap. Shear keys would help control swaying during an earthquake.

The new bridge, which is replacing a span damaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, is designed to withstand a major temblor. It is already years late in opening and billions of dollars over budget.

Documents released last month by the California Department of Transportation show its inspectors found structural integrity issues with some of the rods several years ago, before they were installed.

The documents were unclear about whether the problems were remedied before the rods were delivered and installed. The inspectors noted that they failed elongation tests for structural integrity and said they were concerned about the quality of work by the company that galvanized them to prevent corrosion.

The 32 rods that failed were among a group of 96 from 2008. Officials have blamed what's called hydrogen embrittlement, at least in part due to moisture and water from the foggy environment enveloping the bridge, for their failure.

Another batch of 192 bolts from 2010 has been installed. Tests of those bolts have shown no signs of weakness or hydrogen embrittlement, Steve Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said at the meeting on Wednesday.

"We're starting to see more daylight between the 2008 bolts with the hydrogen embrittlement problem and the 2010 bolts, which do not seem to be developing this problem," he said.