KPIX 5 Presents 'Wind, Water & Steel: The New Bay Bridge'
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- KPIX 5 News will broadcast "Wind, Water & Steel: The New Bay Bridge" on Friday, August 23rd at 9:30 p.m. In addition, the special will be rebroadcast on KPIX 5 on Saturday, August 24th at 9pm, Saturday August 31st at 5pm and on KBCW on Sunday, September 1st at 5pm.
The KPIX special will prepare viewers for the disruption created by the impending Bay Bridge closure and provide options commuters have for getting around. Massive impact on Bay Area travel will begin when the bridge closes on Wednesday August 28th at 8pm, and will continue until it reopens Tuesday, September 3rd at 5am.
Additionally, the 30-minute program will provide viewers with a unique preview of what it will be like to drive on the new Eastern span of the Bay Bridge and how the new bridge fits into the environment and aesthetics of the Bay.
Elizabeth Cook hosts the special. Featured topics in the special include:
"First Impressions" -- Elizabeth Cook previews what people can expect from the new bridge, from the wide shoulders that will help reduce traffic jams, to the wide-open vistas drivers never saw from the old bridge. The S-curve will be no more, but a bike/pedestrian path will be added.
"Elements vs. Steel" -- Chief Meteorologist Paul Deanno shows how the bridge is designed to stand against salty fog and whistling wind -- some of the harshest elements on earth for a steel span.
"Oakland Museum Exhibit" -- Christin Ayers talks to senior curator Lousie Pubols about the exhibit opening Labor Day weekend, examining the relationship that people -- and bridges -- have with San Francisco Bay.
"Dismantling the Old Bridge" -- Allen Martin interviews chief engineer Brian Maroney, who is in charge of building the new bridge and tearing down the old one. It cannot be blown up because of strict environmental laws. Workers will have to "reverse engineer" the old bridge, taking it apart piece by piece.
"Cormorant 'Condos'" -- Michelle Griego updates us on the cormorant colony nesting on the old bridge, and Caltrans' half a million dollar effort to move them to the new bridge.
"Key Trains" -- Ken Bastida rides a relic of the Bay Area's first electric transit system. Trains ran on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge for nearly 20 years.
"Views from the Past" -- Len Ramirez profiles CyArk, the Oakland company that re-created the ancient East Bay shoreline in 3-D digital animation, showing us the raw environmental canvas upon which our modern Bay Area metropolis is built.
Stephanie Danford John and Craig Franklin are the producers of the special, which will also be available for viewing on kpix.com.
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