Whatever happened to the “new” Bay Bridge being built beside the old one.
Is it still under construction or did they abandon the idea when cost overruns started?
With all the work that had been done, I can’t imagine them abandoning the effort. “To big to fail”, comes to mind.
Construction of the new span continues. The new bridge is currently scheduled to open in 2013.
Construction was delayed for an extended period while they fought about what kind of bridge to build. The State of California wanted to build just a "simple" side-by-side concrete causeway to replace the old iron girder eastern span that famously collapsed in the 1989 earth quake.
However, the City of San Francisco, and surrounding communities, complained that they wanted to have a more fancy "signature" span, to compliment their skyline. They wanted a new high-tech single-pillar suspension bridge, so that it will look cool. The single-pillar suspension bridge will also cost a LOT more, something on the order of an additional billion dollars.
The State of California fought it (and the folks in Southern California complained that they did not want to have to pay to build San Francisco's extra-fancy bridge). However, in the end, the Bay Area politico's prevailed, and it was agreed that the fancy bridge will be built instead of the plain bridge.
Construction resumed after all of the fighting subsided. Of course, during the time that construction was shut down for arguing, all of the Chinese-made concrete and steel went up in cost, and several hundred million dollars was added to the budget as a result.
In the end, when the replacement span opens in 2013, it will probably be one of the most expensive bridges in the USA. I LOVE California!!!
Remember the longest (in something or other) bridge that the French built a few years ago in something like 18 months?