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Motorists Uninjured after Steel Rods Break, Crash onto Bay Bridge

The California Department of Transportation has ordered the closing down of the Bay Bridge in both directions yesterday after pieces of steel that were part of emergency repairs made recently to the bridge, broke off, and crashed yesterday afternoon. At least three vehicles were hit by the flying debris, but no serious injuries were reported.

The pieces that fell were part of repairs that had been made to the cantilever sections of the bridge over the Labor Day weekend. On Tuesday afternoon, they apparently snapped and fell on to the upper deck. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the pieces included two high strength steel rods as well as a cross beam. Those parts had been installed over the Labor Day holiday as part of repairs.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the pieces of steel crashed across the westbound lanes on the eastern span of the bridge. CHP officers agree that it was miraculous no one sustained injuries, although several motorists got the shock of their lives when pieces of steel and cables came flying at them.  Caltrans officials moved quickly to close down the bridge, and said that the closure was indefinite.  The agency’s engineers are inspecting the damage and obviously, they want the inspection to be as complete as possible.

The Bay Bridge was also at the center of attention earlier this month when a truck accident on the bridge led to thousands of pounds of groceries strewn across the bridge, and commuters stranded for hours.

The closure of the Bay Bridge is expected to cause a traffic nightmare for commuters who use the bridge every day. About 26,000 vehicles use the bridge every day, and these people will now have to look for alternate means of transport. The Bay Bridge is the busiest bridge in the area, and now that the bridge has been closed down indefinitely, transportation officials are looking at alternate plans for traffic movement. According to representatives at the Bay Area Rapid Transit, the agency will fall back on extra staff members to meet the increase in demand from commuters who use the bridge, and are now likely to use the transit system. The Golden Gate Ferry will also put into service an extra high speed ferry, and is also planning to put more ferries into service to meet commuter demand.

Meanwhile, bridge experts and engineers are calling these issues a sign of possibly bigger problems on the bridge. According to a civil engineering professor at the  University of California, Berkeley, the repairs that were done over the Labor Day weekend were simply a patch up job that has now come apart. He says that the failure of the repairs only indicates the need for a long-term solution to these problems.  The professor told the Associated Press that the age of the bridge and its design place it at a risk for collapse, a risk that will increase if massive tractor trailers continue to use it.

California personal injury lawyers hope that Caltrans will do what’s right for the safety of commuters who use the bridge daily, and will not rush though repairs.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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