Catwalk Installation Complete on East Span

The new Bay Bridge East Span reached another milestone this week as workers yesterday completed the installation of catwalks on the self-anchored suspension tower. The fourth and final catwalk was installed on the Oakland side of the tower — known as the main span of the new bridge — joining its approximately 1,000-foot, 29-ton twin installed last month. 

The two latest catwalks complement those placed earlier this summer on the Yerba Buena Island side of the new East Span. The side-span catwalks are somewhat lighter and shorter than their main span counterparts, but are still nothing to sneeze at, weighing in at 16.5 tons each and stretching 600 feet apiece.

Workers travel up and down the four catwalks using harnesses to prepare for installation of the bridge’s mile-long single main cable. Soon crews will build a frame to support the weight of the cable while it is being installed. The frame will also help guide placement of the cable, which will be strung just above the catwalk early next year.



Meanwhile, the signature tower is structurally complete following successful installation of the cable saddle this past May. It will be crowned with a decorative tower head that will bring the tower to its final height of 525 feet and that will be placed once the bridge cable is installed. In July, workers temporarily installed the tower head to help ensure the components fit correctly. Four 30-foot-tall tower head sections were individually raised and subsequently removed in the trial run, paving the way for a successful permanent installation.

With the final deck sections now en route from China, the new East Span remains on track for completion in 2013. The bridge is a key element in a seismic upgrade program overseen by the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, made up of Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Bay Area Toll Authority and the California Transportation Commission.

—Craig Raphael