This past Labor Day, the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge was completely shut down while a 350-foot section of the upper deck was replaced on the East Span. For three-and-a-half days, the vital link between San Francisco and Oakland was severed for the first time since the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. As demolition sub, Silverado Contractors was first on deck. They had 50 hours to rip out the football field sized chunk of concrete and steel just east of the Yerba Buena Island Tunnel. From there, general contractor CC Myers Inc. had 15 hours to roll the newly built slab into place. Peterson had the privilege of being there, with 9 rental machines and round-the-clock, on-site standby service.
The decision to shut down the bridge entirely, hinged on CC Myers lead on the $40 million job, according to Caltrans director, Will Kempton. Myer's reputation for delivering contracts on budget and on time - like the MacArthur Maze back in May - earned him the confidence of the local community. Silverado Contractors, the demolition sub-contractor, is also well known, having worked at SFO, the Port of Oakland, the Carquinez Bridge and many others including on-going demolition on the Bay Bridge. “Silverado had the first phase on this project and the most time-consuming,” explains Tom Lum, Peterson rental salesman. “We provided them with rental machines and a mechanic around-the-clock. It was so time-critical they couldn’t afford not to have a mechanic there. All our rental machines performed well. That’s why they came to Peterson ... because they know we maintain our equipment.”
Silverado had 50 hours to break up the old 6,500-ton roadbed section and haul it away. They spent the first two hours saw-cutting the deck into 48 sections. Then two teams of four excavators each, working together with a giant revolving crane, ripped up and removed the 85-ton sections, and off-hauled them for processing at their West Grand yard. Once the roadbed was gone, they separated the edge girders and support columns and lifted each of those 100-ton sections onto low-beds for off-hauling. By 8pm Sunday evening, CC Myers crews began installing the skid tracks to roll the new 6,500-ton replacement piece into place.
In preparation for the tightly timed project, CC Myers began construction of the new road section back in January. It was built on a platform south and right next to the bridge. Just before midnight on that Sunday, the new 350 x 75 foot slab was rolled into place on special tracks, fitting into the gap like a drawer sliding into place. It took two hours instead of 15.
There was plenty of risk involved on this project for everyone: liquidation damages if deadlines were not met, using a brand new method of roadbed installation, reputations at stake … and the biggie – commuters wanting their bridge back for the Tuesday morning commute. CC Myers came through, as promised, finishing 11 hours ahead of schedule. CalTrans was happy. The naysayers were amazed. And the contractors earned a well-deserved bonus
