TERRORISTS TARGET CA BRIDGES!

KFBK Radio | 11-1-01 | self

[evilsmoker]

Talk show host Tom Sullivan just reported that during a press conference Gov. Davis said he was notified that there is evidence that terrorists plan to target the Coronado Bridge (San Diego), the Golden Gate & Bay Bridges (San Francisco) and an LA Bridge (didn't catch the name) tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 2nd.

[TX Bluebonnet]

The better look out for trucks....because I think that is the only way they can take out the bridges...trucks full of diesel fuel and fertilizer slammed.

The (only) bridge to South Padre Island, TX was taken out by a tug boat pulling (or pushing?) 4 barges. Happened a week or two after 9/11. It'll be out of commission until December.

[skeeter]

Yeah. I can never remember the names of those two. I one as remember the low long one.

The Dunbarton used to be at near water level, but has been rebuilt and more closely resembles the San Mateo now.

[RandallFlagg]

I was on the USS Peleliu (the next biggest sized ship to the carriers) and we docked on the other side of the Coronado bridge. My ship is 40 stories tall and three football fields long (I had to paint it often...YEECH!). The carriers will not fit not just because of their height, but their keel is too low; they stay on the north side of the bridge.
On a side note, sailors traditionally throw their white caps out of the sterngate of the Peleliu on the last underway period of the very last day aboard ship. We write in permanent marker the names and years of all the countries we've been to in our service onboard.
My white cap said, Thailand, Australia, Phillipines, Kenya, Singapore, Somalia, Hong Kong, Korea, Dubai, Oman and Kuwait.

[freeasinbeer]

Exactly. The Oakland port is one of the busiest in the world, and with the western span of the Bay Bridge down, it is essentially closed. That bridge is a single point of failure for the entire region (read shipping shut down, absolute unimaginable transportation gridloack, and the resulting economic effects) Not too mention the thousands of people on the bridge at any given time.

[newzjunkey]

The Coronado bridge is 2.12-mile (11,179-foot) across. The vertical height is only 200ft. It was constructed in 1967, opened in 1969. Cost $50 million.

Its distinctive towers and graceful curve brought it the "Most Beautiful Bridge" Award of Merit from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 1970.

Please note: Coronado ISLAND is really a penninsula.

From the City of Coronado's website: Beginning at the specially designed toll plaza in Coronado, the traffic ascends at a 4.67 percent grade, curving 80 degrees toward San Diego. Clusters of submerged piles support the 30 mission-arch shaped curving 90 degrees toward San Diego. Clusters of submerged piles support the 30 mission-arch shaped concrete piers. The 54-inch diameter piles were driven and jetted to depths of 100 feet in the Bay's bottom.

All of the braces and stiffeners for the bridge are inside the box girder, providing the slender super-structure with a smooth exterior. The 34-inch high barrier railing is safety designed to redirect vehicles back onto the roadway with little or no damage, and low enough to permit an unobstructed view while crossing the bridge.

The center lane of the five-lane roadway is reserved as a safety median and a reversible lane to provide three lanes of peak-hour traffic.

[Semper Paratus]

In war bombardment taking out a bridge requires obliterating one or both of the bases, not the span.
That said, how big of a pay load would be needed to take out the span?
Still A lot!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Talk show host Tom Sullivan just reported that during a press conference Gov. Davis said he was notified that there is evidence that terrorists plan to target the Coronado Bridge (San Diego), the Golden Gate & Bay Bridges (San Francisco) and an LA Bridge (didn't catch the name) tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 2nd.

You mean Muslims would want to close the Golden Gate? Hmmm?

[stayout]

I caught the "NAS" fluff myself on one of my posts; sorry. I was too typing so fast to set the record straight that I missed it. U.S.S. New Orleans, wasn't that hit by a mine along with U.S.S. Princeton during the Persian Gulf War?

[captain11]

I can think of Bay Bridge, Richmond, Golden Gate, Dunbarton and another down San Jose way

Dumbarton is the bridge furthest south, and would be the easiest to repair. There's no bridge closer to San Jose; Hwy 237 runs south of the Bay, but north of San Jose. San Mateo Bridge is the longest and an important commuter bridge, but would be a dumb target, since all but the high span is only about 30 feet above water, and fairly easy to repair. If the high span were taken out, we'd just rebuild the gap with low-span and forego ship traffic south of the San Mateo.

[.38sw]

These bridges are considered Bay Area bridges - Dumbarton, San Mateo, Oakland-San Francisco, Richmond-San Rafael, Carquinez, Benicia, Antioch. They aren't all Bay bridges, though, like you said.

[RandallFlagg]

Yep! I was next to her on Peleliu; pier 7

[Equality 7-2521]

Maybe they'll emulate the raghead terrorists from True Lies and go after the bridges to the Florida Keys. I know it's the wrong coast, but haven't they pretty much focused on the east coast so far?

[hawaiian]

HOW MANY people does the Golden Gate Bridge transport at one time, during rush hour? Anyone know?

[A Navy Vet]

"They dock at North Island--as do the LPH's..."

Really? LPH's and LHA's used to dock at 32nd Street Naval Station. When did they start parking them at North Island?

[ChowChowFace]

The Bay Area is as resilient to adversity as any place in the country. What the scum will get by attacking bridges is a lot of capable, motivated, and p---ed off people.

The Bay Bridge was rebuilt after the quake in 1989. We saw first hand during that crisis the heroism and compassion of the Bay Area folks.

[GoreIsLove]

The toll plaza for the Golden Gate is on the soutside of the bridge, with all the traffic idling on the span. This means that there are always a lot of cars on the bridge during morning commute.

[RandallFlagg]

They DON'T go to North Island. Trust me..

[afraidfortherepublic]

I thought L.A. had no harbor or port, no major ravines, hence no place for a "signature bridge" (as we call it in the bridge business).

You're wrong about all of it. The name "LA" is usually used for the entire metropolitan area, including Long Beach, Westwood, Beverly Hills, etc -- clear out to West Covina. There is a home port there. There is a port (at Long Beach) that the Chinese tried to buy a couple of years ago. And there are lots of canyons and ravines throughout the hills.

Don't you remember "The Rockford Files?" James Garner used to drive wildly up and down those twisting roads until the bad guys drove over the cliff and wound up in a ball of flames. All that footage was shot around LA.

[concerned about politics]

Which terrorists did Grayout mean, the enviro-wackos or Bin-Laden's group?

well, ya know, he didn't really say. How odd. That could be important info, no?

[Dan Day]

I'd like to see a lot of high drama stuff, near misses, temporary loss of control stuff, etc. Then wrap it up with a tracer round finding the C4 and a monster explosion, with a perfectly situated camera catching the helicopter suddenly blasting through the fireball, with the door gunner leaning out and giving the single finger salute to the already medium well done peaceful martyrs below.

Time to rent a copy of "True Lies". :-)