6/15    Civil E question (since I'm no expert)/
        http://www.mtc.ca.gov/projects/bay_bridge/bbfin.htm
        \_ I thought Willie and Jerry nixed this plan.
        The western span looks like a normal suspension bridge but what's
        with the eastern span?  Wasn't the whole premise of the bridge
        redesign to make it more earthquake proof.  I thought the old
        bridge collapsed during the World Series earthquake because it
        wasn't a suspension bridge but a regular type.  So why is 1/3
        of the eastern span supported on cable stays but the other 2/3
        not.  And why is there a bend in the bridge.  What's the point
        of making a road bend over water?
                \_ I'm sure anonymous cowards on the MOTD know more about
                   bridge design than the engineers and architects working
                   on the project.  -tom
                   \_ geez tom, you sound awful bitter....  -mice
                        \_ I just have little patience for morons.  -tom
                           \_ Then why do you keep reading the MOTD?
                              \_ When ye berate thy first clueless sodan,
                                 then shall ye know, innocent childe.
                              \_ He belongs here.
                              \_ When thou beratest thy first clueless sodan,
                                 then willst thou know, innocent child.
                                 \_ 16th century spelling fixed
                                      -motd archaic grammar god
        \_ It didn't "colapse".  One of the sections on the top deck fell
           down, which is what it's designed to do (be flexible between
           single pieces, as opposed to having a big rigid bridge.)  That's
           what the metal joints that make your car go clickety-clack are for.
           Regarding the bridge types, I seem to recall from somewhere that
           the western span was build as a suspension bridge, since it needed
           to be high enough for large ships to pass under, and that such a
           structure is the type that can be that high and long and still be
           flexible enough to withstand wind and quakes and stuff.  The other
           part is that the water under the East span is shallower, so they
           could sink more supports into it--look at a cross section of the
           Bay floor.  Anyway, weren't they supposed to replace the East
           span?  -John
           \_ Isn't it bad to sink too many supports into the water? I
              thought you wanted a few strong supports and have the
              bridge be very flexible in order to help absorb the shock
              of an earthquake.
                \_ the water under the east span is shallow but there's
                   no bedrock after Treasure Island, it's all sediment.
                   That creates various engineering problems.  -tom
                        \_ Where'd you earn your CE degree?  Or are you just
                           playing one on TV?
                        \_ I make no claims of being an engineer.  I just
                           happen to know that the lack of bedrock on that
                           side of Treasure Island is an engineering
                           problem.  -tom
                           \_ Which is like saying, "I read something in a
                              newspaper article 8 years ago which was quite
                              obvious so I thought it belonged on the motd".
                              \_ Maybe you should, like, you know, read the
                                 fucking thread before you start posting
                                 idiotic non-sequiturs.  Since you seem to
                                 need the obvious pointed out to you: tom
                                 was answering someone's question.  He was
                                 not farting meaningless noise into the motd
                                 like it meant something -- that seems to be
                                 your gig.
                                 \_ tom does nothing but fart meaningless
                                    noise into the motd.  and since when does
                                    tom need an anonymous loser to defend him
                                    from anything?  he's been logged on and
                                    could've replied if he cared to.  i don't
                                    think 'non-sequiturs' means what you think
                                    it means.  (half a bonus point for the
                                    movie title, and another half point for
                                    the character name who first said it)
        \_ two constraints, the end points, and a third, treasure island.
        \_ Have you driven on the current bridge?  It should be obvious that
           it's not a straight line from the road leaving the shore at Oakland
           into the tunnel through Treasure Island - you have to bend somewhere
           before the island, and you want a gradual curve, not a sharp turn
           that will become a bottleneck and source of many accidents.
                \_ Two other reasons for a bend - they have to build the new
                   bridge around the old one, since they can't tear down the
                   old one until the new one is opened, and because not all
                   spots in the bay to anchor the supports are created equal.
                   Are you really so stupid you couldn't think of any one of
                   these three obvious reasons for a bend?
                   \_ Hello?  It's the motd.