West Approach
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The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s West Approach project consisted of replacement and seismic retrofit of a one-mile stretch of Interstate 80, bordered by 5th and Beale streets in San Francisco. A crucial component of the Bay Region’s heavy commuter needs, the bridge was kept open during the West Approach replacement, allowing some 280,000 cars to traverse the span daily.
Alta Vista Solutions performed Quality Assurance (QA) inspection and Nondestructive Testing (NDT) during construction without traffic interruption. In addition, a Structural Materials Representative (SMR) was provided to solve problems and accelerate project delivery. These services were provided during both shop fabrication and field operation as well.
Challenges and Solutions
- AVS provided leadership and technical communication with construction staff in order to achieve solutions to issues discovered during construction. The inspection team worked various hours to accommodate the contractor’s schedule. AVS created an excellent communication matrix between all involved parties.
- In order to assist with the critical timeline and accelerate the project, the SMR assisted in the Construction Manager, designers and the Contractor in developing a realistic fabrication scheme and inspection plan for a unique jacking platform.
- AVS provided immediate inspection requests and coordinated with manufacturers to keep project schedules on track. Extremely effective communications were necessary to avoid quality concerns, as the project involved the most complex construction staging for Caltrans.
- AVS employed a unique partnering approach to this complicated project. For timely completion of all critical activities, added attention was given to all quality assurance functions.
