Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Union Made In Obama Voter Ohio - Officials plan $10-million fix for broken bolts on new Bay Bridge
11 views
Skip to first unread message
Leroy N. Soetoro
May 11, 2013, 12:40:07 PM5/11/13
to
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bay-bridge-bolts-
20130508,0,4664553.story
OAKLAND � State and regional transportation officials Wednesday announced
plans for a retrofit to the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge that will cost up to $10 million and effectively do the job of
three dozen massive bolts that snapped unexpectedly earlier this year.
Questions remain, however, about whether the world�s largest single-tower
self-anchored suspension span will open on Labor Day weekend as expected.
The new span will replace the one that partially collapsed in the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake.
�We believe the work can get done by Labor Day, but it will require extra
shifts and perhaps a 24-hour-a-day operation and that will cost more
money,� Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Dirctor Steve
Heminger told the Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee.
The thick steel bolts � which are 17 feet to 24 feet long � connect the
bridge deck to so-called shear keys, which are designed to control
movement during an earthquake. They were part of a batch manufactured and
galvanized in 2008 and installed on the span, which has been in the works
for decades at an ever-ballooning cost of $6.4 billion.
When the 96 bolts, which were embedded in concrete and impossible to
remove, were tightened earlier this year, a third of them broke, leaving
the seismic safety of the massive endeavor in question.
That batch of bolts have been deemed too compromised to rely on.
The �wild card,� Heminger said, is whether bolts made from similar steel
in 2010 � some equally large and some much smaller � will also have to be
replaced before the bridge opens or simply monitored after the fact.
Commissioners on Wednesday were filled in on the planned retrofit as well
as a battery of tests being conducted on the bolts made in 2010.
In addition to Heminger, presenters included California Transportation
Commission Executive Director Andre Boutros and California Department of
Transportation Director Malcolm Dougherty. The three organizations jointly
oversee the bridge project.
Boutros said the group had opted for one of two finalists for the retrofit
� a steel saddle that must be fabricated and will be clamped down on top
of the shear key plates with tensioned cables. Another option, for a
larger steel collar, would have cost up to $20 million.
The officials will brief the Bay Area Toll Authority again at the end of
the month on the results of tests on the 2010 batch of bolts, which so far
have not broken and would be easier to replace if that were necessary.
They authority will then make a decision on whether to delay the bridge
opening � and a massive party already in the planning.
The three of agencies have retained three independent experts to review
the problems and have also asked the Federal Highway Administration to
conduct an external review.
�I thnk we�re dealing here with not just engineering concerns but public
confidence and I think that public confidence has taken a beating ofver
the past few weeks,� Heminger said.
Caltrans has come under fire for using the galvanized steel bolts, as
industry standards and Caltrans� own guidelines warn against galvanizing
the specific grade of steel used due to its hardness and tendency to break
under extreme tension.
The massive bolts failed due to a phenomenon called hydrogen
embrittlement, in which hydrogen atoms invade the spaces between the
steel's crystalline structure and weaken it. That may have occurred during
galvanization, or when the bolts for years sat untightened in casings that
filled with water.
Caltrans has said that it asked the manufacturer to use a galvanization
process less likely to cause hydrogen embrittlement but in retrospect
should have tested the bolts more thoroughly in the lab before installing
them.
When asked why Caltrans deviated from its own specifications, which warn
against galvanizing this type of steel, Caltrans Deputy Toll Bridge
Manager Brian Maroney said in his 25 years of bridge engineering �every
single project has special provisions, because those standards don�t
really fit and you have to come up with a technical solution.
�The Bay Bridge,� he added, �has many many many special deviations away
from the standard.�
There are many many "special deviations" in the SF bay area. Maybe unions
have a useful purpose in this case if the bridge collapses and some of
those "special deviations" get wiped out.
Comments:
Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ
Piedtype1 at 5:19 PM May 08, 2013
Once again it proves the thought, 'WHEN ALL THE EXPERTS AGREE, THEY MIGHT
WELL BE MISTAKEN". BY Sir Bertrand Russell. I guess it's just a profit
thing. These "experts' can't do anything right. Bolts were probably made
in CHINA or with CHINESE STEEL.
milbuncy at 4:59 PM May 08, 2013
Ahh California. Used to be a meritocracy. Now it appears to be run by a
bunch of mediocre leaders. And the results are embarrasments like this
one. Has anyone been fired yet? Has the company that manufactured the
bolts been charged yet? No because the wolf is guarding the henhouse.I'll
stck to using the Goden Gate/San Mateo till such time the next earthquake
proves me wrong.
--
Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.
Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptness.
Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
insurance premiums 200% and leaves millions without health care.
Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
20130508,0,4664553.story
OAKLAND � State and regional transportation officials Wednesday announced
plans for a retrofit to the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge that will cost up to $10 million and effectively do the job of
three dozen massive bolts that snapped unexpectedly earlier this year.
Questions remain, however, about whether the world�s largest single-tower
self-anchored suspension span will open on Labor Day weekend as expected.
The new span will replace the one that partially collapsed in the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake.
�We believe the work can get done by Labor Day, but it will require extra
shifts and perhaps a 24-hour-a-day operation and that will cost more
money,� Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Dirctor Steve
Heminger told the Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee.
The thick steel bolts � which are 17 feet to 24 feet long � connect the
bridge deck to so-called shear keys, which are designed to control
movement during an earthquake. They were part of a batch manufactured and
galvanized in 2008 and installed on the span, which has been in the works
for decades at an ever-ballooning cost of $6.4 billion.
When the 96 bolts, which were embedded in concrete and impossible to
remove, were tightened earlier this year, a third of them broke, leaving
the seismic safety of the massive endeavor in question.
That batch of bolts have been deemed too compromised to rely on.
The �wild card,� Heminger said, is whether bolts made from similar steel
in 2010 � some equally large and some much smaller � will also have to be
replaced before the bridge opens or simply monitored after the fact.
Commissioners on Wednesday were filled in on the planned retrofit as well
as a battery of tests being conducted on the bolts made in 2010.
In addition to Heminger, presenters included California Transportation
Commission Executive Director Andre Boutros and California Department of
Transportation Director Malcolm Dougherty. The three organizations jointly
oversee the bridge project.
Boutros said the group had opted for one of two finalists for the retrofit
� a steel saddle that must be fabricated and will be clamped down on top
of the shear key plates with tensioned cables. Another option, for a
larger steel collar, would have cost up to $20 million.
The officials will brief the Bay Area Toll Authority again at the end of
the month on the results of tests on the 2010 batch of bolts, which so far
have not broken and would be easier to replace if that were necessary.
They authority will then make a decision on whether to delay the bridge
opening � and a massive party already in the planning.
The three of agencies have retained three independent experts to review
the problems and have also asked the Federal Highway Administration to
conduct an external review.
�I thnk we�re dealing here with not just engineering concerns but public
confidence and I think that public confidence has taken a beating ofver
the past few weeks,� Heminger said.
Caltrans has come under fire for using the galvanized steel bolts, as
industry standards and Caltrans� own guidelines warn against galvanizing
the specific grade of steel used due to its hardness and tendency to break
under extreme tension.
The massive bolts failed due to a phenomenon called hydrogen
embrittlement, in which hydrogen atoms invade the spaces between the
steel's crystalline structure and weaken it. That may have occurred during
galvanization, or when the bolts for years sat untightened in casings that
filled with water.
Caltrans has said that it asked the manufacturer to use a galvanization
process less likely to cause hydrogen embrittlement but in retrospect
should have tested the bolts more thoroughly in the lab before installing
them.
When asked why Caltrans deviated from its own specifications, which warn
against galvanizing this type of steel, Caltrans Deputy Toll Bridge
Manager Brian Maroney said in his 25 years of bridge engineering �every
single project has special provisions, because those standards don�t
really fit and you have to come up with a technical solution.
�The Bay Bridge,� he added, �has many many many special deviations away
from the standard.�
There are many many "special deviations" in the SF bay area. Maybe unions
have a useful purpose in this case if the bridge collapses and some of
those "special deviations" get wiped out.
Comments:
Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ
Piedtype1 at 5:19 PM May 08, 2013
Once again it proves the thought, 'WHEN ALL THE EXPERTS AGREE, THEY MIGHT
WELL BE MISTAKEN". BY Sir Bertrand Russell. I guess it's just a profit
thing. These "experts' can't do anything right. Bolts were probably made
in CHINA or with CHINESE STEEL.
milbuncy at 4:59 PM May 08, 2013
Ahh California. Used to be a meritocracy. Now it appears to be run by a
bunch of mediocre leaders. And the results are embarrasments like this
one. Has anyone been fired yet? Has the company that manufactured the
bolts been charged yet? No because the wolf is guarding the henhouse.I'll
stck to using the Goden Gate/San Mateo till such time the next earthquake
proves me wrong.
--
Barack Obama, reelected by the dumbest voters in the history of the United
States of America.
Eric Holder, racist black murdering United States Attorney General, still
has his job.
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact to
improper vetting of Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, a confirmed
felon using SSAN 042-68-4425, belonging to a dead man.
Obama ignored the brutal killing of an American diplomat in Benghazi, then
relieved American military officers who attempted to prevent said murder
in order to cover up his own ineptness.
Obama continues his goal of disarming America while ObamaCare increases
insurance premiums 200% and leaves millions without health care.
Obama helped bankrupt Illinois. Democrat run Chicago closes 54 public
schools.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
Stop-IL-TollwayRipoffs
May 15, 2013, 7:24:56 PM5/15/13
to
On May 11, 11:40 am, "Leroy N. Soetoro" <leroysoet...@usurper.org>
wrote:
>
> Caltrans has come under fire for using the galvanized steel bolts, as
> industry standards and Caltrans own guidelines warn against galvanizing
> the specific grade of steel used due to its hardness and tendency to break
> under extreme tension.
>
> The massive bolts failed due to a phenomenon called hydrogen
> embrittlement, in which hydrogen atoms invade the spaces between the
> steel's crystalline structure and weaken it. That may have occurred during
> galvanization, or when the bolts for years sat untightened in casings that
> filled with water.
>
> Caltrans has said that it asked the manufacturer to use a galvanization
> process less likely to cause hydrogen embrittlement but in retrospect
> should have tested the bolts more thoroughly in the lab before installing
> them.
Seems like the Swarzeneggar era designers messed up in specing the
wrong type of bolt.
wrote:
>
> Caltrans has come under fire for using the galvanized steel bolts, as
> industry standards and Caltrans own guidelines warn against galvanizing
> the specific grade of steel used due to its hardness and tendency to break
> under extreme tension.
>
> The massive bolts failed due to a phenomenon called hydrogen
> embrittlement, in which hydrogen atoms invade the spaces between the
> steel's crystalline structure and weaken it. That may have occurred during
> galvanization, or when the bolts for years sat untightened in casings that
> filled with water.
>
> Caltrans has said that it asked the manufacturer to use a galvanization
> process less likely to cause hydrogen embrittlement but in retrospect
> should have tested the bolts more thoroughly in the lab before installing
> them.
wrong type of bolt.
0 new messages