September 07, 2010

Doyle Drive construction [part 1]


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

The southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge has the well deserved name of "Deadly Doyle Drive", and thousands of brave motorists "white knuckle" the narrow roadway twice a day.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

The main problem beyond that of traffic safety is the reinforced concrete structure. The concrete and steelwork is eroding at an alarming rate. Concrete is spalling off pillars exposing rusted rebar. It's falling apart.

One big earthquake and the notorious Deadly Doyle might drop to the ground, similar to the section of roadway that dropped to the deck below on the Bay Bridge during the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

I shot these a couple weeks ago, but the weather you see in the background is typical of our summer "off shore flow" pattern. The past several days, however have been stellar.


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

Amidst the chaos, everything seems nicely organized.

Here's what Wikipedia says about Doyle Drive:

The elevated approach to the Golden Gate Bridge through the San Francisco Presidio is popularly known as Doyle Drive. Doyle Drive, dating back to 1933, was named after Frank P. Doyle, director of the California State Automobile Association. The highway carries approximately 91,000 vehicles each weekday between downtown San Francisco and suburban Marin County. However, the road has been deemed "vulnerable to earthquake damage", has a problematic 4-lane design, and lacks shoulders. For these reasons, a San Francisco County Transportation Authority study recommended that the current outdated structure be replaced with a more modern, efficient, and multimodal transportation structure. Construction on the $1 billion replacement, known as the Presidio Parkway, began in December 2009 and is expected to be completed in 2013.



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1 comment:

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Thanks for the news report. I never know too much about what is going on. I seem better off that way. I like the self portrait you've placed off to the side of your blog. Been away for a week, can now return to the regulary scheduled programming of 'a photo a day'.

 
under construction