A tale of two bridges : the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges of 1936 and 2013 / Stephen D. Mikesell.
2017
TG25.S237 M56 2017 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
A tale of two bridges : the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges of 1936 and 2013 / Stephen D. Mikesell.
ISBN
9781943859269 (hardcover)
1943859264 (hardcover)
1943859264 (hardcover)
Published
Reno : University of Nevada Press, [2017]
Language
English
Description
vii, 208 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Call Number
TG25.S237 M56 2017
Dewey Decimal Classification
624.2/30979461
Summary
"A Tale of Two Bridges is a history of two versions of the San Francisco--Oakland Bay Bridge: the original bridge built in 1936 and a replacement for the eastern half of the bridge finished in 2013. The 1936 bridge revolutionized transportation in the Bay Area and profoundly influenced settlement patterns in the region. It was also a remarkable feat of engineering. In the 1950s the American Society of Civil Engineers adopted a list of the "Seven Engineering Wonders" of the United States. The 1936 structure was the only bridge on the list, besting even the more famous Golden Gate Bridge. One of its greatest achievements was that it was built on time (in less than three years) and came in under budget. Mikesell explores in fascinating detail how the bridge was designed by a collection of the best-known engineers in the country as well as the heroic story of its construction by largely unskilled laborers from California, joined by highly skilled steel workers. By contrast, the East Span replacement, which was planned between 1989 and 1998, and built between 1998 and 2013, fell victim to cost overruns in the billions of dollars, was a decade behind schedule, and suffered from structural problems that has made it a perpetual maintenance nightmare. This is narrative history in its purest form. Mikesell excels at explaining highly technical engineering issues in language that can be understood and appreciated by general readers. Here is the story of two very important bridges, which provides a fair but uncompromising analysis of why one bridge succeeded and the other did not."--Publisher's description.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-200) and index.
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Table of Contents
Transportation in the Bay Area before the Bay Bridge
How the Bay Bridge was planned in the 1920s
How the Bay Bridge was finally approved : the Hoover-Young Commission
The context of great bridges
part 1: from the 1920s and 1930s
How the Bay Bridge was designed: 1931 to 1933
How the Bay Bridge was built: the 1930s
What happened to the Bay Bridge between 1936 and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
A repair effort becomes a megaproject: the decision to replace the east span of the Bay Bridge
The context of big bridges
part 2
Designing a megaproject in public
Everything that can go wrong ...
How the Bay Bridge was planned in the 1920s
How the Bay Bridge was finally approved : the Hoover-Young Commission
The context of great bridges
part 1: from the 1920s and 1930s
How the Bay Bridge was designed: 1931 to 1933
How the Bay Bridge was built: the 1930s
What happened to the Bay Bridge between 1936 and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
A repair effort becomes a megaproject: the decision to replace the east span of the Bay Bridge
The context of big bridges
part 2
Designing a megaproject in public
Everything that can go wrong ...