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- Feb 21, 2002
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[h1]Bay Bridge Closed After Brace Falls Onto Span[/h1]TREASURE ISLAND, Calif. -- Transportation officials shut down the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in both directions Monday night to assess possible structural damage after repair work made to the bridge last month came loose, California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney said.
Ney said repair work done to fix a cracked eyebar spotted on the bridge over Labor Day weekend came loose Monday evening and the bridge will remain closed indefinitely as engineers assess the bridge.
CHP said the last drivers to cross the span went through the toll plaza at approximately 8:45 p.m. Drivers who approached the Bay Bridge after that time were getting diverted through the toll plaza parking lot to re-enter I-80 eastbound.
CHP Sgt. Trent Cross told KTVU that the broken cable would bring about the full closure to Bay Bridge so Caltrans can more accurately assess the damage from the incident.
The cracked eyebar was originally spotted during an inspection of the bridge during the ambitious Labor Day closure in September to install the new 3,600-ton double-deck section featuring the now notorious S-curve just east of Treasure Island. Construction crews scrambled during that holiday weekend to complete designs for the repair work and gather all the materials needed to complete the project.
The incident was reported at about 5:30 p.m. on the westbound deck, just east of the new S-curve, Sgt. Cross said.
He said an occupant of a Ryder Truck sustained a minor injury when the cable struck the vehicle and caused glass to shatter. No other injuries were reported.
Three westbound lanes are closed, creating a massive traffic back-up during the evening commute.
Caltrans crews arrived on the scene shortly after 6 p.m. to assess the problem as far as the structural integrity of the bridge and to assist in clear the accident scene. On car that appeared to take the brunt of the damage was pushed off the bridge to Treasure Island at around 6:30 p.m.
The CHP is recommending that motorists heading to San Francisco avoid the Bay Bridge.
Great, hopefully i dont get dispatched out to SF tomorrow. Traffic is going to be KILLER
