The NY Times admires the Chinese business push into big engineering
projects, in this case a major rebuild of the eastern part of the SF Bay
Bridge that was damaged in a 1989 earthquake:
Bridge Comes to San Francisco With a Made-in-China Label
New York Times, June 25, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/business/global/26bridge.html
The long background story has not one word on cracked welds in the
girders that were going to hold up an elevated approach to the bridge.
California state officials had to make an emergency trip to Shanghai
about the problem.
___
Bay Bridge welding woes lead to China trip
By Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
San Francisco Chronicle, August 26, 2009
Officials overseeing construction of the new eastern span of the Bay
Bridge jetted off to China this week for some in-your-face meetings over
defective welds that have stalled work on the $6.3 billion project for
months.
Inspectors hired by Caltrans reported finding a number of cracked welds
in the girders that will support the roadway, which we reported in
January. Officials say those problems were fixed, but then more cracks
were found in welds linking the deck plates to the girders.
Metropolitan Transportation Commission manager Steve Heminger, new
Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki and Bimla Rhinehart, executive director
of the state Transportation Commission, plan to meet in Shanghai with
executives of ZPMC, the fabricator that lead bridge contractor American
Bridge-Fluor hired to produce 900 panels for the span.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-08-26/bay-area/17176241_1_bay-bridge-welds-caltrans-director
___
The faulty steel had to be reworked, delaying construction for months.
The Times quotes estimates of cost savings. We have no idea whether the
costs include the rush work done near the end of the project to catch up
with the schedule.
Because as far as the Times is concerned, globalization is good. Yes,
the article voices some sympathy for Chinese workers, but none for U.S.
workers.
Charles Andrews
No Rich, No Poor
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