Another Addition to the Heap of Worries

The complete collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge when one vertical support was struck by a container ship highlights a similar vulnerability in thousands of U.S. bridges. In this group eight major U.S. bridges are "fracture critical":

At least seven bridges, some of them twin spans, have clearance similar to the Key according to the National Bridge Inventory, a collection of the inspection records done on the nation’s thousands of highway bridges, based on last year’s version of the data released by the Federal Highway Administration. An eighth has piers that stand on or next to land. The eight are part of important transportation systems in California, Maryland, Oregon, New York and Washington.

All but one are older than the Key, and all contain what is known as “fracture critical members,” meaning the failure of even a single steel component in tension could cause a collapse.

The San Francisco Bay Area is fortunate that a supersize container vessel hasn't gone astray and damaged either of its iconic bridges, but the lack of capital reserves means that this addition to the heap of worries won't be relieved anytime soon.

The Limits of a Golden Goose

(Chronicle photo)

I first drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in 1974. The 75¢ toll seems paltry now, but it was pricey enough to this starving student who thought 50¢ for the Oakland Bay Bridge was already steep.

For the next half-century the Golden Gate Bridge District ratcheted up the tolls to fund its deficits. Higher revenue always resulted, because the number of crossings never decreased until the COVID lockdown. The problem for the District is that traffic has not recovered to 2019 levels. [bold added]

The Golden Gate Bridge saw roughly 85% of pre-pandemic traffic levels crossing its toll plazas as of the end of May, according to agency data...

To stay financially afloat, the Golden Gate district has slashed bus and ferry service, gradually restoring trips as ridership demand inches upward. The district also raised fares by a quarter, as well as bridge tolls, which now cost many drivers $9.75. The district has also leaned on employee attrition to prolong reaching its fiscal cliff.

“What we’re doing right now is controlling our expenses to make our one-time federal COVID relief money last as long as possible,” Mulligan said. “We’d be running out of money, probably in the next couple of months, if we didn’t scale service.”

With more Marinites working from home and the exodus of businesses and people from the Bay Area the decline in bridge traffic appears to be permanent. It took them 86 years and a $9.75 toll, but the Golden Gate Bridge District has finally found the limits of its golden goose.