Demolition of old Bay Bridge span ahead of schedule

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- In the East Bay, you may have noticed a piece of the Oakland skyline is slowly vanishing. Demolition of the old Bay Bridge span is ahead of schedule.

"Every time I come across, a new chunk is missing. It's disappearing," Sacramento resident Daniel Jones said.

He's not imagining things - the old span of the Bay Bridge is going away. One truss span is still visible from the new bridge, but two more span segments out of view are set to be demolished soon.

"End of March, early April, we will bring down our last truss span. It's sentimental for us," Bay Bridge spokesperson Leah Robinson-Leach said.

And she's not the only one who gets a little misty thinking about the old steel bridge constructed in the 1930s, which started coming down in 2013.

"I grew up here, something I'll always remember. I like the new bridge too," East Bay resident Shirley Abunag said.

Timelapse video of the process shows nothing less than a dramatic feat of engineering, lowering the old truss by crane onto a barge.

Caltrans said the concrete marine foundations will be demolished this fall, like an implosion which took place last October - with fish and wildlife protected by an underwater net to catch the debris.

"With each passing day, each segment comes down. Unveils views to behold," Robinson-Leach said.

Sky7 was overhead with a preview of what will be left behind -- beautiful views of Oakland and the East Bay, a new perspective for the future.