Crews Start Installation of Final East Span Deck Pieces

October 3, 2011 Update: Two Down, Two to Go for Last Four Deck Sections

Crews installed deck section 13 east next to section 13 west on the self-anchored suspension span (SAS) last week. When sections 14 east and west are installed later this month, the decks for the steel SAS will connect with the long-completed Skway portion of the new Bay Bridge East Span, and bridge's side-by-side roadways will run continuously from the Oakland shore to just east of Yerba Buena Island. View a photo gallery of the latest installation operation here.

September 20, 2011

By dawn’s early light, the giant floating Left Coast Lifter crane today began lifting deck section 13 west into place on the Bay Bridge East Span, starting the latest and last round of deck installation for the self-anchored suspension span (SAS). When these last pieces are installed (sections #13 and #14 for the eastbound and westbound decks, for a total of four sections) along with their associated crossbeams, the one-third-mile-long SAS will meet up with the 1.2-mile already completed Skyway portion of the bridge at a mid-Bay juncture, and the twin, side-by-side decks of the new East Span will stretch continuously 1.5 miles from the Oakland shoreline to just east of Yerba Buena Island. Completion of the decks sets the stage for the next dramatic phase of the East Span: the installation of the massive, nearly mile-long SAS main cable that will suspend the decks from the tower.

To see the positioning of the last deck pieces, which range in size from 942 tons to 1647 tons, go to: baybridgeinfo.org/sas

Watch the final deck installation in real time:bata.mtc.ca.gov

See more photos from this lift operation.