It must be the analysis and commentary.
"Decades after huge quake, new Bay Bridge to open; Delays, defective parts help drive price to $6.4b" by Jason Dearen | Associated Press, September 01, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO — When traffic flows across the new stretch of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for the first time this week, it will do so nearly a quarter-century after a deadly earthquake during the 1989 World Series collapsed two 50-foot sections of the old structure.
The 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta quake hit just as millions tuned in to watch Game 3 of the ‘‘Bay Bridge World Series’’ between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants, killing 63 people and causing up to $10 billion in damage.
The Bay Bridge failure prompted one of the costliest public works projects in state history. The $6.4 billion project finally draws to a close after decades of political bickering, engineering challenges, and billions in cost overruns. The new bridge is scheduled to open by 5 a.m. Tuesday at the latest.
That would be in less than three hours from now.
The delays magnified public safety concerns over the need for a permanent solution as the original, seismically unsafe bridge, which opened during President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, was patched up and continued operating.
Highlighting the decades of complications, the scheduled opening of the new bridge was in jeopardy again this year after crews discovered dozens of defective rods used to anchor the roadway to important earthquake safety structures. The bridge will open with a temporary fix for the broken rods while the permanent repair, expected to be completed in December, is being installed.
Are you flipping kidding me? They can't build or make anything right the first time here in AmeriKa, can they? So where did all the loot go? I am beginning to think these things are f***ed up on purpo$e.
Issues with the rods and myriad delays have left many commuters with a feeling of trepidation about the bridge, even though state officials say it is one of the safest in the world.
Just because state officials say something doesn't make it true, and who is going to be first over the bridge?
The self-anchored suspension bridge with a looming, single white tower was designed to endure 150 years and withstand the strongest earthquake estimated by seismologists to occur at the site over a 1,500-year period.
Steve Heminger, chairman of the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, the project’s watchdog, said the span is orders of magnitude safer than the current crossing....
Bay Area leaders say the area deserved a span that would complement the grandeur of the Golden Gate.
As long as it gets you safely over the water, 'eh? Who care$ what it looks like?
The self-anchored, single tower design was accepted in 1998, and Caltrans estimated it would cost $1.5 billion.
However, the ambition of the project created technical challenges that were not factored into original cost estimates — hurdles that delayed construction by years. During the delays the price of steel increased, and unforeseen engineering challenges created a need for more workers.
Who was holding it for them, Goldman's?
Costs skyrocketed, leading former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 to propose scrapping the single-tower design in favor of the cheaper raised freeway concept.
There was a cheaper way?
But the foundations of the bridge’s tower were already laid, so in 2005 the project continued.
Critics of the bridge’s design along the way have questioned assertions that the span is quake safe, saying more work is needed to know if there are more defective bolts or rods, said Bob Bea, an emeritus engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley....
What?
The project’s problems also exposed a government public works system that is no longer equipped to handle such ambitious projects, said Richard Walker, an emeritus geography professor at the UC Berkeley who has studied a century of public works projects in the United States.
‘‘America doesn’t do big infrastructure projects that well anymore,’’ Walker said. ‘‘California used to be at the leading edge . . . they built the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge, still one of the beloved structures in the world.
‘‘In those days, there were far fewer regulations, which allowed builders to put together local steel and cement plants for these projects . . . assembling a whole team was easier.’’
He must be a Republican.
--more--"
Related: Putting Out the California Fires
"Sierra wildfire now 4th-largest in modern Calif. history" Associated Press, September 02, 2013
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — The wildfire burning in and around Yosemite National Park has become the fourth-largest conflagration in modern California history, fire officials said Sunday as clouds and higher humidity helped crews further contain the biggest blaze in the United States this year.
The two-week-old Rim Fire moved up a spot on the state’s list of large wildfires dating back to 1932 when it grew to 348 square miles — an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose combined — on Saturday, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
Although the fire still is growing, it was 40 percent contained as of Sunday, up from 35 percent a day earlier.
If it is growing how can it be more contained?
Moister air was expected to slow flames from advancing through brush and trees, giving firefighters room to set backfires, dig containment lines and to strengthen lines around threatened communities, US Forest Service spokeswoman Pam Baltimore said.
Full containment is not expected until Sept. 20.
The blaze started Aug. 17 in the Stanislaus National Forest and two-thirds of the land burned since then is located there as well. In Yosemite, 94 square miles have burned. The cause remains under investigation, Baltimore said.
You know, sometimes these things just happen by nature.
Meanwhile, the dense smoke that obscured Yosemite’s majestic views for the first time on Saturday and prompted air quality warnings was starting to ease, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.
Although park officials advised visitors to avoid heavy exertion, Cobb said she has seen people outside running ‘‘and enjoying Yosemite, despite the smoke.’’
‘‘The park was actually busier than I thought it would be,’’ she said....
Oh, well, then this is not that $eriou$ and I think I'll stop covering it.
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Also see:
Putting Out Filner's Fire
Crews make gains on Yosemite wildfire
Search resumes for firefighter in N.M. forest
As for any further posts from the Boston Globe, I will just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.
