District Facing Money Shortage
By Mark Prado
IJ reporter
The
likelihood of a traffic barrier on the Golden Gate Bridge
soon is slim as the district struggles to find money for
other projects, including a seismic upgrade of the span.
Two years ago, the Golden Gate Bridge District board approved
the concept of a traffic barrier on the span. When the plan
was approved in 1998, bridge officials said the $7 million
barrier could be up within 38 months. Does that mean motorists
will now-24 months later see the barrier within 14 months?
“I think it is still doable in that time frame, but there
are no funds for construction at this time,” said Bridge
engineer Mervin Giacomini.
The
barrier project has been overshadowed by the massive $297
million retrofit project, designed to have the bridge withstand
an 8.3-magnitude earthquake. The district is still short
millions of dollars on the project. A $7 million electronic
toll system has also occupied bridge officials’ attention.
That is set to begin in July.
Robert
M. Guernsey of San Anselmo, who heads Citizens
for a Safe Golden Gate Bridge, says the bridge district
has not worked hard enough to make the barrier happen. “Little
has happened since 1998,” Guernsey said. “They do not care
about safety at all. They have the retrofit on their minds,
and that’s it. They have not moved forward in a timely manner.”
Guernsey
said that the first contract signed to do initial engineering
work was not approved by the board until last August, and
wasn’t signed until February. The $35,000 contract with
New York City-based Parsons Brinckerhoff for preliminary
engineering will determine the feasibility of the 1-foot
wide, 32-inch-high barrier.
Among
other things, the firm is evaluating lane configurations
on the bridge, developing an emergency response procedure
to get crews across the barrier and investigate equipment
storage options. Computer simulations to illustrate what
it is like to drive next to the barrier will be developed.
The study is due this summer. “Things are moving forward,
they are just moving a little more slowly than some would
like, but that’s what it takes to get this engineering work
done,” bridge spokeswoman Mary Currie said.
1996
on the six-lane bridge spurred a push for the median. Thirty-four
people have died and hundreds more have been injured in
crashes on the span since bridge officials began compiling
accident statistics in 1970. Twenty-six of those fatalities
occurred in head-on crashes. In recent years, the bridge
district has imposed several measures aimed at improving
bridge safety. Speeds were lowered to 45mph, enforcement
of speed violations was heightened and fines increased for
speeders.
|
