Bay Bridge's New Eastern Span Safety At Center Of Next Week's State Senate Hearings
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— Despite reports in the Sacramento Bee that a state inspector falsified some test results, Caltrans insists repeated testing of the new Bay Bridge's eastern span concrete foundation will show it is safe.
Next Tuesday the State Senate will call on Caltrans for a hearing on the controversy where outside experts will review the integrity of the new bridge construction.
State Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), who chairs the Transportation and Housing Committee, spoke on Wednesday about next week's hearing.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
"The worse case scenario in my mind is that it'd be testing or even disclosing more information that the bridge might not be safe. I don't believe that's true because of the redundancies," he said.
DeSaulnier said he does think it's important to get all the questions answered before the bridge opens.
The Bay Bridge's eastern span construction is almost complete and will open a year from now, 24 years after the Loma Prieta Earthquake knocked out a section of the existing eastern span.
The billion-dollar replacement project has ballooned to $6.4 billion.
DeSaulnier said, if the concrete foundation is found not to be secure, the investigation could widen to the other state bridges that cross the bay.
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