Another SF Bay Bridge construction error: Bolts along bike path fail
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Numerous bolts used to anchor the railing along the bicycle path on the new Bay Bridge eastern span have failed, forcing Caltrans to make plans to replace hundreds of the steel parts, The Chronicle has learned.
Crews that built the railing committed what experts called a basic mistake - they welded the bolts in place firmly in their slots rather than leaving a small amount of room to accommodate a natural expansion of the bicycle path that happens in hot weather.
As a result, scores of the 1-inch-diameter bolts have been sheared off along the 1.2-mile bike path on the southern side of the span's skyway section. All of them, along with hundreds of others that were solidly welded, will have to be inspected and possibly replaced, a Caltrans spokesman said Tuesday.
The problem pales in comparison with the failure of 32 steel rods crucial to seismic-stability structures on the eastern span and questions that have been raised about the soundness of more than 2,300 similar metal fasteners. But it also adds to skepticism about how Caltrans managed construction of the bridge, which is scheduled to open to traffic Sept. 3 - a timetable that is now very much in doubt.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bolts-along-Bay-Bridge-bike-path-fail-4555354.php
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go to the Bay Area while the vast majority of California goes wanting. I can't tell you how angry this makes me as they're now going to soak up even more SORELY NEEDED resources due to incompetence. 
I suppose that's because "anything 60 miles east of the Coast is a cesspool" or so says one of DU's Bay Areans.
