It took the all the grit of men like Alfred Zampa to build the Bay Area's bridges. When bridges, both majestic and rugged, sprouted from the Bay muck and towered into the 1920s and '30s fog, the Bay Area entered upon a great bridge-building spree that would transform this region forever. If the Bay Bridge had fingers to cross, the Gray Lady's would be in knots. If she had lungs, she would have been holding her breath for exactly 3,933 days. That's the amount of time that has come and gone since the earth jolted violently enough to pull apart a stretch of the eastern span of the world's busiest toll bridge, sending its top deck crashing down on traffic below.
Deadly earthquakes are the reason for the Bay Area's current spate of bridge rehabilitation.
The region's seismic instability steers Caltrans, engineers and designers, earthquake experts and the driving public all into uncharted territory. Clench your teeth and type.