Cranes, cranes, cranes
The tall, yellow crane shown here is one of many used in building the new section of the Bay Bridge. This one in particular is resting on a structure called a trestle, which is basically a mini-bridge of its own. It had to be built to extend the beachfront area of Yerba Buena Island since there wasn't enough room for the crane to operate. As soon as this detour section of the bridge is completed, the trestle will be torn down and repurposed, and the crane relocated.
Unlike some of the barge-based cranes that have been used to lift sections of the new bridge more than a hundred feet into the air, cranes like this have been used to hoist both workers and materials. More often than not though, it's used as an OSHA-mandated safety precaution, so that workers have a way of escape if an elevator is out of service and they need to get off the section of the bridge that's being worked on.
Not pictured, and slightly to the left is San Francisco's central Coast Guard station. The U.S. government owns much of the land on Yerba Buena Island, including the area where most of the construction is being done.
September 5, 2009 4:00 AM PDT
Photo by: Josh Lowensohn/CNET
