The San Francisco Bay Bridge And an Ethics Revolution

The San Francisco Bay Bridge is the artwork right outside my family room window. But, last night it was Van Gogh without his ear.

It was horrible to find out that two, newly-installed cables broke and that this left the remaining cables straining to hold up tons of bumper to bumper commuter traffic. Could they hold all those cars with less support or would they snap?

We can safely assume that skydiving without a parachute was not how anyone beginning the commuter slog home from work envisioned ending their day.

Without sounding pushy, don't you think it's fair to ask WHY those hundreds of lives were hanging by fewer threads yesterday?

Reporters where are you?

Here's the dialogue I heard:

Reporter: Jenny Martinez-Steinberg-Wo: "What happened to the cables?"

Caltrans officials: "Don't know yet, our investigators will find out!!!"

Reporter: Jenny Martinez-Steinberg Wo: "Uh, okay."

Then a short silence and an artless throw back to the studio. No follow up

I've been thinking about the mainstream media and its new role in our conformity conscious, televisual world. A world where it is considered rude to ask the "WHY" question, even when lives are in danger. I watched and listened and worried about those commuters, but never saw Caltrans feel any heat from reporters.

Amazingly, the only thing I learned from the coverage was that Caltrans and reporters are very nice and get along swimmingly. Caltrans got a chance to give the perfunctory "We'll be looking into this" public relations response, and reporters met their deadlines. Regarding both Caltrans and the reporters, I wonder if their families had been the ones stranded on the Bay Bridge ... held up by fewer cables ... if perhaps their questions and answers would have been more relevant?

Here are a few things to consider:

• Exclusive government bids
• Inadequate rods and cables
• Enormous bonuses for Caltrans for finishing the job early.

Let's take these one by one.

My sources are builders and engineers and architects, and I don't expect Caltrans to answer any questions honestly right now. But, they should still be held responsible. Reporters have to get their hands on evidence. That takes time. Blueprints and cable contracts might be worth asking for. Caltrans has to turn them over if asked by reporters, they are public records and, if they have not been altered, will tell us what we need to know.

Exclusive Government Bids: Remember that Caltrans, a public agency, has exclusive rights to award government contracts such as the Bay Bridge to whomever it chooses. Here's how that works to our disadvantage. No one bids against Caltrans. No scrutiny ... no comparisons. We have to depend on the unreliable to keep us safe. I wish the press would point this out.

Inadequate rods and cables? It is public record Cal-trans hired suppliers who sub-contracted the fabricated steel from China for the New Bay Bridge. Apparently the bids were lower than American Steel fabricators. Did that same steel used in the Labor Day repairs come from the same Chinese source? We cannot even trust pet food or children's toys coming from China. And just yesterday it was discovered that toxic Sheetrock from China has forced thousands from their homes in the Southeastern United states.

Early finish incentives: Caltrans received huge monetary incentives to finish before their scheduled date. Guess what? Lo and behold, twenty-two hours before the designated deadline. Voila! Caltrans took the bonuses and the bows. Holy bridge over troubled waters! The politicians and the press loved it ... praise be to Caltrans. Can you hear me laughing?

Final thought: Remember the New Bay Bridge is built by Caltrans, too. Even as the foundation piles were embedded deep below the water onto concrete blocks, it was reported that the concrete on the new bridge was "adulterated." That was good reporting at the time, but it was never followed up by public outrage or additional reporting.

And think of this: Anyone who's ever seen a concrete block that's pure knows how tough it is. "Adulterated" concrete is much weaker because it's been broken up and used in the past. Re-using concrete saves money. So our new Bay Bridge sits on piles held up by "adulterated," re-mixed and re-used concrete.

We need an ethics revolution in this country.

There are still those who believe American government agencies are there to protect the people. And, there are those who believe the government's an ATM machine with no limit. If you were sitting bumper to bumper in a very compromising situation last night and still are naïve enough to believe these government officials are looking out for you ... I've got a couple of bridges you might want to build.

 

 

Comments

[HonestySeeker]

It's great to hear from Leslie, a long-time standard bearer in Bay Area journalism. She is "Old School", and that's a compliment! The bridge situation is much worse than CalTrans is letting on. The wind that occurred that day was only in the 35 to 40 mph region, not a really serious storm. So to attribute the "fix" failure to wind is worrisome. Add that this "fix" only lasted a month, and you have to question whether CalTrans has qualified structural engineers involved in the mix. As this event drags on, it's becoming apparent that CalTrans perhaps doesn't even really know what they're doing, since as of this writing, stress tests on the "new" fix are still showing deficiencies. KGO-810 is reporting that UC Berkeley professors who studied the bridge after Loma Prieta are not even being consulted for their expertise. What's worse, that lack of consulting appears to be territorial, with CalTrans eschewing outside opinions in favor of contractors currently in vogue because of their low bids. This is one time that I'm NOT interested in the lowest bid, but in the best bid, quality wise. Loma Prieta is now 20 years past, and the bridge continues to age in the salt air, under daily heavy use. What happens if we have a strong earthquake that's not centered so far away? During commute time? A total and catastrophic failure is unthinkable, but now I'm starting to think those dark thoughts, and I'm not comforted. No, indeed.

[Ameriki]

Another thing to consider...Congress and the Administration giving trillions of dollars to their Wall Street buddies instead of investing the money in repairing our nation's infrastructure (and creating jobs).

[reguspatoff]

Leslie raises a basic issue that the press is not addressing: why did the eye-link fail, and why did the Labor Day fix fail as well? The statements pointing to bridge vibration and wind load are disingenuous, since these factors should have be anticipated and considered in designing the fix.Leslie's list of questions should probably be expanded, and they should be asked of authorities not associated with CalTrans or the contractors. I appreciate her efforts to bring this issue to the fore.

[Hemkit]

My very first thought as I watched the evening news on Wednesday was, "Whose fault is this?" I thought for sure Caltrans would lay the blame on the contractors or the rush job to fix the crack found during the Labor Day repairs. But I never heard anyone ask the question or Caltrans even offer up a possible culprit or reason why it happened. Why am I not surprised?

[NickfromCali]

It's been 20 years since the Loma Prieta earthquake. The question is why that replacement bridge is taking sooooooooo long.

[RTIII]

Thanks, Leslie.

I've never heard before about the adulterated cement and / or concrete and, like you, I'm insight of the bridge daily and use it often.

The reason there was no outrage is because it was buried. If we're talking ethics, we need to talk about both sides of the coin: government and business, AND the rim around the coin - the edge - which is the media, which is supposed to be honestly and actively illuminating such problems.

And obviously you are right to question both the reporting AND CalTrans action. If I were given a choice I would DEMAND that steel from the USA be used - cost aside, because, after all, in addition to our making the best steel in the world, we need to keep our money on our shores to keep American business going - especially so as our jobs are going away by the half-million a month.

I see this problem is a continuation of American Fasc.is.m ...Sorry I have to dot-annotate that word but HufPo sensors (SIC) flag it as an abusive word, apparently.

Anyway our version of fasc.is.m is like any other: the combination of state and business power.

Please keep informing us, Leslie, you're one of the few who's both an insider and someone who's not afraid to air the press' dirty laundry when it's important for the public interest.

Thank you for your article.
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