Bridges Not Walls

Today is the official opening of the East Span of the San Francisco- Oakland-Bay Bridge! It took 11 years for CalTran to complete this project, which became delayed and over-budget. The reason for this construction was because during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a section of the eastern section's upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck and the bridge was closed for a month. In 2002, reconstruction of the eastern section of the bridge as a connector to a self-anchored suspension bridge began.

What's more is that the new bridge's bike and pedestrian path opened Tuesday, although it does not yet run the full length of the new span. The path was dedicated to the late Alex Zuckermann, founder of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and the man credited for persuading Caltrans to build the path. The Bay Bridge is one of the longest bridge span in the world! I'm happy to witness this historical day and can't wait to take a ride and walk on it some day. I admire bridges for the huge engineering feats it took to create them, and yes, it connects Point A to B, but it also symbolizes human connections metaphorically. On any given day, I definitely appreciate bridges more than walls! :-)

Below are stunning pictures of the East Span, captured by San Francisco Gate, the online news website. Check it out!