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Posted on:	10/28/09 @ 09:03 pm
Subject:	San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Breaks
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View of the bridge in better times

**Read about the bridge at Wikipedia

'High winds caused a steel crossbeam and two steel tie rods to snap off the Bay Bridge's eastern span and fall to the upper deck, Caltrans officials said today as commuters unable to drive over the closed bridge jammed alternative routes and crowded onto BART in record numbers.

The three pieces were part of an emergency repair that workers made on the bridge over the Labor Day weekend after discovering a crack in a structural beam on the cantilever section. The repair held for just seven weeks, until the parts came crashing to the upper deck at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, damaging three vehicles and injuring one motorist.

Crews worked all night on fresh repairs after authorities closed the bridge, but Caltrans was giving no estimate for when the span might reopen. Local transit officials said they were being told to plan as though the bridge will be closed through the end of the week.

The National Weather Service said gusts in the San Francisco area hit 30 mph Tuesday. Caltans said that was enough to cause a 20-foot tie rod, which goes through load-bearing steel saddles on the cantilever section, to move back and forth, and eventually snap.'

Highway to Heaven or Hell?

Westbound Highway 92 (left) slows as commuters, at mid-morning, cross over the high rise section of the San Mateo Bridge into Foster City on Wednesday. Photo: Michael Macor

--Story from San Francisco Chronicle