This time-lapse video shows the erection of the suspension portion of
the new Bay Bridge East Span, compressing the complex, labor-intensive,
round-the-clock three-year effort into a fast-paced 2.5 minutes. The sun
rises and sets more than 1,000 times as crews and equipment race
against the clock and endure all types of weather to assemble the
self-anchored suspension span (SAS), with its soaring tower and graceful
canopy of cables. The video shows the process step by step, including
the installation of the steel deck pieces, the construction of a roadway
connection to Yerba Buena Island, the erection of the tower piece by
piece, the hanging of the catwalks from the top of the tower and the
stringing of the main cable soon thereafter, the hanging of the vertical
cables, and finally, the transferring of the bridge's load to the cable
system — all while a steady stream of cars zip along the old East Span
just to the south of the construction zone. Set to an original score,
the time lapse provides a window into the intense activity involved in
building this engineering masterpiece, which is set to open in the late
summer of 2013.