Building a better Bay Bridge

http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10001505.html?tag=mncol

by tlrobinson • 17 years ago

4 5 17 years ago

news.cnet.com

russell• 17 years ago

It may be better, but it sure is taking forever. The original bay bridge took 3 years to build, but the new one is taking 24 years from the time of the Loma Prieta Earthquake which caused a portion of the original bridge to collapse. Think of it: when the old bridge is finally retired, a third of its lifetime will be occupied by building its replacement.

teej• 17 years ago

Replacing pieces on a pre-existing structure has to be more complex than building from scratch.

Besides, they are optimizing for high availability over speed. You have to remember, the bridge is only unavailable for -5 days-. That's a feat in and of itself.

ojbyrne• 17 years ago

Which should be familiar to any experienced software engineer. Initial product = 1/10 or less of the total effort.

sachinag• 17 years ago

Back in the day, they assumed that [x] number of workers would die and worked that number into the calculations. The St. Louis Arch, for example, assumed 13 people would die. Thankfully, we don't put such a small price on human life any more.

wschroter• 17 years ago

Strange that no one is ever commended for preventing a failure, only attacked when one occurs.

Building a better Bay Bridge

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