We have been following the never-ending scandals involving Chinese products and foods that have proven dangerous due to contamination or shoddy quality. That reputation did not however prevent California officials from hiring a Chinese firm with no experience with bridges to repair the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The Chinese firm underbid the competitors by an amazing $250 million and a promise finish the repairs in record time. If it sounds too good to be true, it was. The state has now spent millions repairing the shoddy repairs of Chinese company Zhenhua Port Machinery, which also caused delays through poor decision making.
The Sacramento Bee has detailed the problems including the decision of these state to hand over more money to the Shanghai-based company as a “speed incentive.” In the meantime, two engineers who worked on the project said that they were reassigned after voice concerns over the shoddy work. This included faulty tack welds, which hold in place steel parts in preparation for final welds. The tack welds cracked and the cracks often remained underneath the final welds.
It is curious that the contract would be awarded solely on the lowest bid when the company lacks experience in bridge repairs. It is equally bizarre that more money was paid to this company after failing to meet its promised performance.
The actual figures are: Golden Gate Bridge – 11 dead
Bay Bridge – 28 dead
The Bay Bridge did have union workers but in the “craft unions”.
I suppose it a bridge in understanding quality differences.
Hiring someone to repair a bridge with no bridge experience. Or, as Randy wrote, a nuke plant with no experience. Now that is a scary situation.
At best, gross incompetence and at worst corruption. Playing games with lives and tax money.
got close to 300,000 votes.
I’m not sure what to comment on other than it seems some of the facts are getting lost here. The whole thing starts in 1989 with the Loma Prieta earthquake which severely damaged the eastern span of the Oakland/Sf Bay Bridge. Apparently damaged to the point of requiring replacement rather than just a retrofit. It took until late last year to complete the job. 24 years to rebuild half a bridge when the whole bridge took only 4 years in the late Thirties(1930s). Now of course in those 24 years millions of people traveled over the old span which remained open until the new one opened. A good deal of time was lost when Brown and Brown got involved. Willie in SF and Jerry in Oakland. I believe that resulted in the scrapping of a perfectly decent design so that each of the Mayors might seek an iconic design as a legacy. And then who knows how the bidding and awarding of the contracts was done but it seems we all got stiffed. I’m glad the Sacramento Bee is repotting on the story. But truly a really independent investigation is necessary. I think that all kinds of corruption and obfuscation has been going on for years. But ultimately the real scoundrels are the voters in California who keep voting for politicians who condone or participate in these types of shenanigans. Hell, an indicted state senator