Bay Bridge Proposal: Turn Old Eastern Span Piers into a Park

Officials are considering a plan to preserve some of the eastern span of the bay Bridge as part of an effort to cut costs on the project—which is now well over its $6.4 billion budget.

1 minute read

December 2, 2014, 1:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Bay Bridge officials want to keep some of the old eastern span’s concrete piers in place — a plan they say would save on demolition costs and create a memorial for the historic structure," reports Jaxon Van Derbeken.

"The idea is to preserve and remember a portion of the old span as part of the planned Gateway Park. The 170-acre park would be built on Caltrans land near the span as an approach for the bike path to the bridge."

One hitch in the plan—the original permit for the project requires all of the former span's piers to be removed. Environmentalists argue that removing the piers is for the "betterment of the bay."

Friday, November 28, 2014 in San Francisco Chronicle

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