It’s been a great journey following a little piece of history in the making, as the project I began in 2008 just kept getting better and better. So many wonderful photo opportunities have come my way—from land, sea and air—that it’s difficult to pick just a few to share.
Many late (sometimes very chilly) nights were spent on Yerba Buena and Treasure Islands, exploring different views of the Bay Bridge with my friend and dedicated driver, Rod Harris. Exciting aerial shoots were had, thanks to my pilot friend, Chris Chilson and fun photos from the Bay were possible thanks to my dearly departed friend, tugboat Captain Eric Gohs.
On August 17, 2012, I had an incredible private tour of the Bay Bridge construction site with Bridge Safety Engineer, Edward Garcia, who went out of his way to show me around. The elevator ride up to the bridge was a little scary but I was thrilled, and as I stepped out onto the construction site, I was blown away with the immense scope and details of the bridge project. Needless to say, my cameras were put to work immediately, and as I was shooting, I realized that future photos of the site would never be the same as a long parade of concrete trucks would be arriving the very next day to cover up the detailed roadwork I’d been documenting.
On August 28, 2013, I witnessed, firsthand, the historic closing of the Bay Bridge from the roof of the Toll Plaza (watching drivers jockey to be the very last car to go through) and then stood in the middle of the closed freeway to photograph the closed Toll Plaza. Who would have thought I’d get those exciting photo ops!
During the bridge closure, I had some amazing opportunities to explore and photograph the old, eerily quiet bridge. Most impactful though was standing on the 50-foot section of the old East Span’s upper deck where it collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. My thoughts and prayers were definitely with those who lost their lives there.
Seeing “the troll” attached under the bridge (put there in the wake of the 1989 disaster, to honor the workers who repaired the old bridge, and to protect it from future damage) was another memorable highlight.
Walking and taking photos out on new Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge on opening day (before the Bridge was opened to the public) was an extra special treat. I must have set the world record for the number of times one can say, “WOW,” in one day. As I documented an unforgettable, “moment in time,” the question kept entering my mind: How could life get any better?
Special thanks to Officer Daniel Hill and the California Highway Patrol for giving me so many incredible photo opportunities during the bridge closure. For more Bay Bridge images, go to www.SusanWoodPhotography.com
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