The snarled remnants of a snapped steel beam on the San Francisco Bay Bridge may soon be entangled in a broader international issue regarding a lack of quality control in China, at the expense of public bridge safety in the U.S.

We are beginning to scratch the surface on a serious issue which Cal Trans managers have reportedly known for months – that the steel fabrications for the Bay Bridge are sub-standard and may be a hazard to public safety.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported back on Thursday, September 9, 2009 that the steel for the new portion of the Bay Bridge scheduled to re-open in 2013 is, in fact, coming from China.

Granted, it’s not unusual in this day and age for much of our nation’s steel to come from China.

But this does not appear to be any ordinary shipment.

The Chronicle reported that steel shipments for the Bay Bridge this year have been delayed “because there is a problem with the welds” on the steel fabrications for the bridge.  

The Chronicle went on to report that the problem has been so serious this year that “Project managers flew to Shanghai earlier this summer to check on the beems [sic] and found continuing problems with the welds… There is also the potential of cost overruns, but those details have not been released.”*

The Chronicle was reporting specifically on the portion of the Bay Bridge that is under renovation and is scheduled to re-open in 2013 – rather than the temporary, so-called S-curve detour portion of the bridge which was involved in this week’s incident . However, it can be logically deduced that the steel that the State of California used on the steel beam involved in this week's incident comes from the same source.

So, the question becomes "what exactly did Cal Trans know about the quality of the steel they were ordering from China, and when did they know it?"

To get to the bottom of the matter, I have filed a Public Records Act request with Cal Trans, demanding answers to the following questions:

-    The Company name and Country of Origin of the steel beam involved in this week’s incident;

-    The date upon which Project Managers first discovered (as reported on SFGate.com on Sept. 10, 2009) that steel shipments from China were of sub-standard quality;

-    A listing of the Company names and Contact information for any and all companies involved in the outsourcing of the Bay Bridge project;

-   The Company name and Country of Origin of steel to be used for other portions of the Bay Bridge renovation;

-    Names and Titles of Project Managers (both Cal Trans and contractors) who traveled to Shanghai in the Summer of 2009 to discuss and/or inspect the problems with the inferior welds;

-    The results of any and all inspections performed on the steel beams or welds;

-    and All e-mail Communications which mention "steel" being fabricated specifically for the San Francisco Bay Bridge (either for the S-curve portion or the new portion to open to the public in 2013).

By law, the agency is required to respond in writing to this request within 15 days, although a public agency may extend their response time by an additional 15 days if they require additional time to gather data.

Either way, we’ll be awaiting the Cal Trans response on this matter, and in the meantime we will continue researching the facts.  Because when public safety is at risk, the old phrase “Good enough for Government work” is simply not acceptable.


*article: San Francisco Chronicle, “China Steel Problems Could Delay Bridge Opening”, SFGate.com, 9/10/2009