Report: Questions Raised on Bay Bridge Safety Test

A California Department of Transportation technician responsible for crucial seismic tests to ensure the safety of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge span is under investigation in connection with testing for major transportation projects throughout the state.

The Sacramento Bee newspaper reported it uncovered falsified safety tests by the technician, who has been put on administrative leave and whose previous work is now being probed by federal and state officials.

At a projected cost of $6.3 billion, the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge is the largest public works project in California history, and it is poised to open in 2013. In 2006 and 2007, Caltrans technician Duane Wiles performed tests to ensure the structural integrity of seven of the 13 deeply buried concrete and steel pilings that hold up the new bridge’s tower.

Wiles did not follow a requirement to check that his testing gauge was working correctly to ensure its accuracy before testing, according to the report. Caltrans says the bridge tower foundation is safe.