A Bridge for the Future, A Bridge to the Past

77 years ago, a 24 year old journalist covering the San Francisco Waterfront beat for the Hearst papers made history.The journalist was Lee Rashall, my father. From the stories I heard, he was amongst the first cars to cross the newly built Bay Bridge. Along the way, the young writer made regular site visits to report on the progress of the magnificent structure. Today, the son of that journalist followed in his footsteps. Almost. This morning, I braved the throngs to be amongst the first to travel across the majestic new 2.2 mile expanse on this inauguration day. While the original eastern span lasted decades, advances in technology have assured engineers that this structure will have a “return period” of 1,500 years. Translation: the Bridge is designed to withstand the largest projected seismic disruption within a 1,500 year period. At $6.4 billion, it’s amazing what you can accomplish!