The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge continues to give commuters and Caltrans trouble.
A 3-ft-long rod snapped and fell on three cars traveling on the westbound lanes of the bridge on Oct. 27 during the peak of rush hour. One vehicle was damaged but no injuries were reported. Authorities closed the span indefinitely hours later.
The damaged rod originated from the same place a truck crashed and overturned a few weeks ago. The snapped rod was part of the repairs executed after the accident. It was holding in place a saddle-like cap that had been installed over a cracked link.
The San Francisco-Oakland Bridge was closed over the Labor Day weekend for a seismic upgrade when inspectors noticed a crack on the eastern span. Caltrans had the bridge back open before the start of the workweek.
“If you look at the totality of the circumstances, you’ve got the 5:30 commute, you have a 5,000-lb piece of steel falling out of the sky. We are so fortunate that no one was injured or killed,” California Highway Patrol Trent Cross told KTVU-TV.