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Crack could keep Bay Bridge closed 1 more workday
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-07 10:21 SAN FRANCISCO: A 73-year-old bridge that carries commuters between San Francisco and the heavily populated cities to its east could remain closed for a fifth day as crews race to repair a crack in a steel link that holds up part of the span, a state transportation official said.
"People should be braced for another day of it being closed," Ney said. Motorists can use other routes while the bridge is closed, but officials fear that its closure will create traffic jams elsewhere as people return to work after Monday's US Labor Day holiday. The bridge was shut down Thursday night so a section of the eastern span could be cut out and replaced with a new double-deck section as part of a long-planned seismic upgrade. California transportation workers used the closure as an opportunity to inspect the bridge from top to bottom, and they discovered the crack Saturday.
The last full inspection of the bridge was in 2007, and the crack likely appeared since then, Ney said. He said he did not believe it was related to the construction project. Friday was the first time the bridge was closed on a workday since part of it collapsed in a devastating 1989 earthquake. It had been scheduled to reopen by 5 am Tuesday. |