Project Description
Dutra once again is part of the replacement of The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Eastern Span, a bridge that serves as a vital link between San Francisco and the East Bay. The bridge replacement is the largest public works project in California history.
Seventeen years later the American Bridge/Fluor Joint Venture was awarded the contract for constructing a segment of the new eastern span, the Self Anchored Suspension (SAS) Span. The Self Anchored Suspension Span is the longest single-tower self- anchored suspension bridge in the world. Dutra contracted with American Bridge/Fluor to construct the temporary foundations for supporting the installation of the bridge superstructure and more recently to install the fender system around the base of the pier that supports the main tower.
The fender system design required the installation of sixteen precast concrete segments around the base of the pier, each segment weighing up to 360,000 pounds. The fender segments were cast in Dutra’s Alameda waterside facility, loaded onto barges, and transported to site for installation. Onsite, Dutra first installed steel falsework around the pier to temporarily support the precast segments. Then Dutra’s heavy lift Derrick Barge Paula Lee was used to set them into position. The installation required detailed planning due to the weight of the precast segments in combination with the limited clearance underneath the new bridge. Once the segments were in position a cast in place concrete closure pour was made connecting the precast to the existing pier followed by the removal of the falsework.
