6 ms·

Yeah, I can imagine lax quality control if you're making... I don't know, a desk or even a house, but a bridge? Whoever dropped the ball put a HELL of a lot of

Yeah, I can imagine lax quality control if you're making... I don't know, a desk or even a house, but a bridge? Whoever dropped the ball put a HELL of a lot of people (and money) in jeopardy - even if the corrosion isn't going to critically affect the structure, it makes one wonder about the quality of the rest of the materials, and the contracts involved...

Dav3xor 11y ago
And for people who've never been to San Francisco -- this bridge is a huge huge thing, and any problems with it are a very big deal.
- x0x0 11y ago
  $6.4B and counting, plus a quarter million vehicles per day; there is no possible alternate way to move that many people. It had to be replaced while the old one was still used.
  - simulate 11y ago
    Since drivers pay the $6 toll only one direction, it will take $6.4B / (125,000 vehicles per day * $6 per car * 365.25 days per year) = 24 years to pay off the bridge with tolls alone.
    - aggie 11y ago
      With a projected lifespan of 150 years [1], that seems pretty reasonable. [1] http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/eastspans/ http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/eastspans/
oh_sigh 11y ago
Well, the construction of the bridge decks and the materials for the bridge was made in China...
- sneak 11y ago
  So are Apple Watches and iPads. Please stop it with this nonsensical nationalism/racism.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    It's well known that china has lax safety and quality standards. See for one of many examples the adulterated pet food from china or the milk scandal where china poisoned 300,000 infants [1]. To this day, China's own citizens import milk for their children if they can [2]. Or chinese drywall [3]. It's merely prudent to safety test food and materials imported from China. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal [2] http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-11-16/china-turns-to-the-u-dot-s-dot-and-australia-to-import-safer-milk http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-11-16/china-turns-... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall
    - prewett 11y ago
      China also has had a bunch of spectacular construction failures. My favorite is the Shanghai bridge made out of styrofoam and garbage [1], but there are other, less spectacular examples: [2]. The schools in Sichuan are notable for poor construction, as many schools feel down but adjacent buildings did not. [3] Apparently one builder would tap the cement on inspection, and if it didn't ring right, he would make the contractor redo it. They didn't like him much, but his schools stayed up. Can't find the article, though. Apparently the rebuilding isn't any better [4]. I wouldn't even consider using Chinese construction material. [1] http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/02/05/shanghai-wonderbridge-trash-collapses/ http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/02/05/shanghai-wonderbridg... [2] http://world.time.com/2012/08/27/bridge-collapse-in-china-raises-questions-about-safety-of-countrys-road-construction-boom/ http://world.time.com/2012/08/27/bridge-collapse-in-china-ra... [3] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?... [4] http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/05/14/183635289/Five-Years-After-A-Quake-Chinese-Cite-Shoddy-Reconstruction http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/05/14/183635289/F...
gscott 11y ago
The bridge was made in China and assembled here. There were a lot of quality control and cost overrun issues. The Chinese company would kick out the American inspectors.
- MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
  The bolts in question were made by an american company. The same issue happened with another bridge before. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9695276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9695276

Dav3xor 11y ago

And for people who've never been to San Francisco -- this bridge is a huge huge thing, and any problems with it are a very big deal.

x0x0 11y ago
$6.4B and counting, plus a quarter million vehicles per day; there is no possible alternate way to move that many people. It had to be replaced while the old one was still used.
- simulate 11y ago
  Since drivers pay the $6 toll only one direction, it will take $6.4B / (125,000 vehicles per day * $6 per car * 365.25 days per year) = 24 years to pay off the bridge with tolls alone.
  - aggie 11y ago
    With a projected lifespan of 150 years [1], that seems pretty reasonable. [1] http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/eastspans/ http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/eastspans/

oh_sigh 11y ago

Well, the construction of the bridge decks and the materials for the bridge was made in China...

sneak 11y ago
So are Apple Watches and iPads. Please stop it with this nonsensical nationalism/racism.
- x0x0 11y ago
  It's well known that china has lax safety and quality standards. See for one of many examples the adulterated pet food from china or the milk scandal where china poisoned 300,000 infants [1]. To this day, China's own citizens import milk for their children if they can [2]. Or chinese drywall [3]. It's merely prudent to safety test food and materials imported from China. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal [2] http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-11-16/china-turns-to-the-u-dot-s-dot-and-australia-to-import-safer-milk http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-11-16/china-turns-... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall
  - prewett 11y ago
    China also has had a bunch of spectacular construction failures. My favorite is the Shanghai bridge made out of styrofoam and garbage [1], but there are other, less spectacular examples: [2]. The schools in Sichuan are notable for poor construction, as many schools feel down but adjacent buildings did not. [3] Apparently one builder would tap the cement on inspection, and if it didn't ring right, he would make the contractor redo it. They didn't like him much, but his schools stayed up. Can't find the article, though. Apparently the rebuilding isn't any better [4]. I wouldn't even consider using Chinese construction material. [1] http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/02/05/shanghai-wonderbridge-trash-collapses/ http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/02/05/shanghai-wonderbridg... [2] http://world.time.com/2012/08/27/bridge-collapse-in-china-raises-questions-about-safety-of-countrys-road-construction-boom/ http://world.time.com/2012/08/27/bridge-collapse-in-china-ra... [3] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/world/asia/25schools.html?... [4] http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/05/14/183635289/Five-Years-After-A-Quake-Chinese-Cite-Shoddy-Reconstruction http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/05/14/183635289/F...

gscott 11y ago

The bridge was made in China and assembled here. There were a lot of quality control and cost overrun issues. The Chinese company would kick out the American inspectors.

MrBuddyCasino 11y ago
The bolts in question were made by an american company. The same issue happened with another bridge before. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9695276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9695276