Government Technology - November 2007 - (Page 45)

“Installation of the rail system on the lower deck of the bridge went simultaneous with the final portions of demolition, and the actual move of the structure took only two hours — and was estimated to take five.” Bart Ney, spokesman, Caltrans With such a vital bridge being taken out of commission, time and coordination were of the essence. The majority of the 70-hour project was devoted to demolition of the old roadway, which was handled by Silverado Contractors, a demolition company based in Oakland, Calif. Once demolition was finished, Mammoet’s skid jacking system eased the new road into place. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CALTRANS/BILL HALL providing routine reminders to motorists months ahead of the scheduled Aug. 31 shutdown date. As a next step, the Caltrans Web site displayed closure reminders on its front page as well as in separate links throughout the site. Radio and TV spots were aired, and notices appeared in newspapers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and neighboring Sacramento and central valleys. Bay Bridge officials were careful to utilize every form of technology they had to alert those intending to head out of town for the holiday that their most direct route would be out of commission. Caltrans even posted a video announcement on YouTube warning drivers of the closure. “No matter how much you do, you never know whether you’re going to reach everybody,” Ney said in a recent media report. “Even if you do, you don’t know whether they’re going to listen.” So did officials succeed at communicating? Having spent almost $1 million on getting the word out, most agree the outcome was positive — although Ney alluded to the fact that “Since this type of operation is not common, it takes a company with worldwide experience to perfect it.” Bart Ney, spokesman, Caltrans “Installation of the rail system on the lower deck of the bridge went simultaneous with the final portions of demolition, and the actual move of the structure took only two hours — and was estimated to take five,” said Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney. Mammoet’s proprietary system was particularly attractive to Caltrans due to its ability to both push and pull hydraulically. “Since this type of operation is not common, it takes a company with worldwide experience to perfect it,” Ney said. Tracks were placed along the lower level of the double-decked bridge, and the new roadway was rolled into place using the hydraulics. The computer-driven moving system is modular, so it can be shipped from site to site. According to Ney, it took a little less than a week to set up the system for the Bay Bridge project, followed by two days of testing. busy holiday weekend that included Oakland A’s baseball games and the season opener for UC Berkeley’s football team? Warning drivers of the bridge closure posed almost as big a challenge as the seismic upgrades themselves, according to agency officials. Caltrans started by alerting commuters through electronic traffic-condition signs, some people were informed and annoyed. Following the mantra “better safe than sorry,” it quickly became apparent that lack of notification wasn’t the problem — an incessant bombardment of facts was. “I had a lot of people telling me they were sick of hearing it,” Ney said. GT PHOTO COURTESY OF CALTRANS/BILL HALL Getting the Word Out How did Caltrans retrofit the bridge without triggering massive gridlock, especially during a 45 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - November 2007

Government Technology - November 2007 Contents Point of View Way Back Machine The Last Mile GT Spectrum Big Picture Building Better Government Up Close Inspector Gadget By the Numbers Money Talking No Greenwashing Pinching Pennies Bay Bridge Bustle Two Cents Products Signal: Noise

Government Technology - November 2007

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