The Skyway, which comprises much of the new East Span, will drastically change the appearance of the Bay Bridge. Replacing the grey steel that currently cages drivers will be a graceful, elevated roadway supported by piers, providing sweeping views of the Bay. The side-by-side east and westbound decks will each have five lanes along with 10-foot-wide shoulders to help keep traffic flowing.

Extending for more than a mile across Oakland mudflats, this is the longest section of the East Span, between the new Self-Anchored Suspension (SAS) span and the Oakland Touchdown. In addition to incorporating the latest seismic-safety technology, the Skyway is up to current transportation requirements with standard shoulders and lane widths. Designed specifically to move during a major quake, the Skyway features several state-of-the art seismic safety innovations.  

For additional seismic stability, the Skyway marine foundation consists of 160 hollow steel-pipe piles measuring eight feet in diameter and dispersed among 14 sets of piers. The 365-ton piles were driven more than 300 feet into the deep bay mud. The new East Span piles were driven in at an angle (battered), rather than vertically, to obtain maximum strength and resistance. This was done by using one of the world’s largest hydraulic hammers, which generates 1.2 million pounds of force, or the equivalent of a car hitting a brick wall at 265 mph. To lessen the impact of pile driving on fish and other marine life, dense columns of air bubbles are created around the piles underwater. The bubbles help dissipate the shock waves produced by hammering.

Additional innovative safety features include 60-foot-long hinge pipe beams, which will connect the Skyway to the SAS. The beams will allow deck segments on the Skyway to move, enabling the deck to withstand greater motion and to absorb more earthquake energy. In the event of an earthquake, damaged fuses inside the hinge-pipe beams, which will have absorbed the brunt of the earthquake’s energy, can be removed and replaced.

The Skyway’s decks are composed of 452 pre-cast concrete segments (standing three-stories high), and will contain approximately 200 million pounds of structural steel, 120 million pounds of reinforcing steel, 200 thousand linear feet of piling, and about 450 thousand cubic yards of concrete. These are the largest segments of their kind ever cast, and they were lifted into place by winches that were custom-made for this project.

 

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