Yeah, I recall the '89 quake and the one and only section of the entire span that let loose on one end to the deck below. I was at the Sea Ray service center in San Leandro when it hit. What a ride!
If you recall the news after that, they kept showing a small compact red car with its flashers on, dangling over the edge of the section that dropped. The owner of that car was the sister of a co-worker of mine at the time. She was on her way to get her marriage license. With an omen like that, I wonder how her marriage is going???
Anyway, I had a contact at the Daily Review in Hayward that asked me if I would take a few reporters out on the water so they could take some pics and video's of the damage. I gladly complied. Of course, the CG had other ideas, but the mission was a success.
And there is no guarantee that this new span will survive a big quake. No bridge is "earthquake proof". And what about the west span. I bet that after all the fiasco of the east span (and it isn't over yet), no one wants to step up and get that project going. But isn't it necessary? Replacing the east span supposedly was... [?]
And I still don't see any reason to blow almost six million on a party to celebrate such an embarrassment of a project.
You can buy a light and name it