In January 2002, a joint venture led by Kiewit Pacific Co., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, was selected to construct the $1.04 billion “Skyway Segment” of the eastern span crossing the San Francisco Bay from Yuerba Buena Island to the city of Oakland, California. Considered Phase One of a four-phase seismic retrofit to replace the existing double-deck steel bridge, the project is the largest single contract in Caltrans history. The two new twin precast segmental bridges will accommodate five lanes of traffic in each direction and a bike path on one side.
The 1.2-mile-long, 14-span bridge deck consists of 452 precast concrete segments, each weighing as much as 750 tons. Each segment made a 10-hour journey from the fabrication yard in Stockton, down the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers and to the bridge site. On December 7, 2006, the project reached a major milestone when the final two segments were lifted into place. With the segments positioned, crews connected the larger of the two with newly poured concrete, cables and two 60-feet-long steel hinge pipes that will allow the bridge to move in an earthquake.
Crews also installed cables and epoxy to link the precast segments together, paved the roadway and finished the steel deck to support the bike path.