New San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (East Span)

DBM Vircon’s Scope of Work:

• The deck is comprised of 33,000 tons of orthotropic tub girders weighing up to 1,700 tons each
• The main suspended span is 2,047 feet and the single steel tower is 525 feet high
• Due to a design/fabrication issue, DBM Vircon had to detail the projects as “Design-Build”

Skyway Viaduct

• East/West bound lanes detailed by DBM Vircon using AutoCAD
• 3,200 tonnes East/West Lane

Pier T1 (Tower) Base

• ïBase segments detailed by DBM Vircon using Tekla

Main Span Tower

• Lower portions of tower detailed by DBM Vircon using Tekla
• Upper portion of tower detailed by ZPMC

Main Span

• Span 1 thru to Span 11 inclusive detailed Tensor Engineering
• Span 12 thru to Span 14 inclusive detailed by DBM Vircon using AutoCad. Anchor Plate
• Assembly modeled in Tekla detailed using AutoCAD
• 7,550 tonnes Span 12 thru to Span 14 inclusive, CB17, CB18 & CB19

Project Stats:

• The East Span set a new record for its self-anchored suspension span of 1,263 feet
• Designed to withstand the strongest ground motions engineers can expect in the next 1500 years
• The first cable-supported bridge to use seismic energy-absorbing shear link beams in its tower
• The East Span is the first suspension bridge to have no connection from deck to tower
• Features the longest looped suspension cable ever used for a bridge, measuring at 4,550 feet long
• The skyway uses precast girder segments weighing up to 750 tons each making them the largest ever built in the world
• State-of-the-art hinge pipe beams were designed and built at the expansion joints and between bridge frames

Oakland Bay Bridge Project Highlights & Challenges:

• Geometry & design issues pushed out schedule detail/fabrication completion dates
• Original design specified Segments 13 & 14 had to be orientated radially due to fabrication restrictions, these segments were detailed and fabricated kinked (segmented), thereby increasing the number of pieces required
• EOR & contractor sent representatives to our offices to help expedite design/fabrication issues

Our clients were American Bridge – Fluor JV for the Main Span) and Kiewit/FCI/Manson JV for the Skyway, Pier T1 Base & Main Tower. More information about the successful Kiewit/FCI/Manson JV can be found here.