MOST POPULAR: Video, stories and more
SIGN-UP: Get breaking news sent to you from ABC7
After completing the monumental challenge of moving aside the old span and precisely fitting the new temporary span into place Saturday, Caltrans announced a major potential setback.
"While we were inspecting the east span of the Bay Bridge, a crack was discovered in one of the I-bars on the eastern side up high," said Caltrans spokesperson Bart Ney.
In a completely separate area of the bridge, inspectors found a crack in one of the I-bars of the bridge's support structure, about 100 feet above the pavement.
"It was determined that this is a significant crack and it needs to be dealt with immediately, and we are dealing with it immediately," said Ney. "The crack is significant enough to have closed the bridge on its own."
LIVE WEB CAM: Bay Bridge construction
Caltrans says it is now mobilizing contractors and gathering materials to make the emergency repairs.
"I want to assure everyone that this repair is going to be made and that we are going to return the Bay Bridge to public service safer than the way it was when we took it out," said Ney.
Caltrans engineers say the crack has apparently been there for some time. They would not speculate on the potential danger, but emphasized it has to be fixed immediately.
"We have to make this repair before we open the bridge," said Ney. "The work to repair this crack may take us beyond Tuesday. In fact, if we complete by Tuesday, it will be a monumental effort."
East Bay BART stations open 24 hours:
Concord
El Cerrito del Norte
Walnut Creek
Downtown Berkeley
MacArthur
Oakland City Center
Bay Fair
Coliseum/Oakland Airport
Dublin/Pleasanton
SF and Peninsula BART stations open 24 hours:
Embarcadero
Powell Street
24th Street Mission
Daly City
SFO Airport
MORE:
Watch our live web cam of the Bay Bridge Labor Day weekend construction.
Watch a 1930s film about the building of the original Bay Bridge.
For more information about the Bay Bridge closure during the Labor Day weekend, check out our resources page.
For transit options, visit www.511.org/baybridge
For the latest on the Bay Bridge construction project, visit baybridgeinfo.org
Follow updates on the bridge closure on Twitter at twitter.com/BayBridgeInfo
Today's latest headlines | ABC7 News on your phone
Follow us on Twitter | Fan us on Facebook | Get our free widget
