Connect people and bring them together, may we too be bridges that will provide for the common good may this wonderful bridge, this open inspire us to continue to envision bold and beautiful fetes in the service of all human kind. Amen amen. Thank you, reverend smith. The coats will keep peeling off as we go we will see who the last hold on out is. And i would also like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this building. And the newly renovated urban electric railway bridge yard shop building. And also known as urbies for short. And that is one lowsy, and so we decided to rename it the bridge yard, which is the sign on the side of the building, this is what has prepared the key system train that used to run on the lower deck of the bay bridge before the Commuter Rail service seized . 1958 and for those transit advocate whose would like to blame me for that mistake, i hasten to add the train stop that was built the year before i was born. Now it is time to wax poetic and we happen
Thank you for your long hours and hard work in the face of big challenges and those have been some major challenges that are paying off today. So give everyone who had a hand in this a big thank you. We must always honor the memory of folks who lost their lives in the earthquake. The contribution of this bridge first its a beautiful structure f that adds another iconic structure to our incredible bay area landscape. Its truly a gateway to the east bay community. Second this bridge it insures our safety. We all remember the distribution brought by the earthquake. We know the daggers of a future quake thats why its so for this is built to withstand a big quake. We will right lane on this bridge to maintain the resources in the case of a man made disagrees. Third this has big impacts on our economy. It will prove the transportation and Health Insurance this is a home to oakland. It will continue to serve as a place for folks on the other side of the bay. Its the toll payers who fund this.
Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the colors and the singing of the national anthem. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, please welcome steve hengineg executive director metropolitan transportation commission. Good afternoon, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee and my committee colleagues, and the director of cal transand the executive director of the california transportation commission, it is my great pleasure to welcome you at long last, to the opening ceremonies for the new east band of the San Francisco oakland bay bridge. That is an applause line. [ applause ] i know that you joined me in thanking the Oakland Institute color guard and the choir, and their wonderful presentation and our ceremonies. [ applause ] and i guess that i will not ask you if it is hot enough. And it certainly is, so do please, keep cool and gentleman take off your jackets if you need to and keep the water going and keep an ey
We must always honor the memory of folks who lost their lives in the earthquake. The contribution of this bridge first its a beautiful structure f that adds another iconic structure to our incredible bay area landscape. Its truly a gateway to the east bay community. Second this bridge it insures our safety. We all remember the distribution brought by the earthquake. We know the daggers of a future quake thats why its so for this is built to withstand a big quake. We will right lane on this bridge to maintain the resources in the case of a man made disagrees. Third this has big impacts on our economy. It will prove the transportation and Health Insurance this is a home to oakland. It will continue to serve as a place for folks on the other side of the bay. Its the toll payers who fund this. So we have to give our toll payers a round of sport for this measure clapping finally im so glad with the addition of bike and pedestrian lanes were moving closer to an integrated mode of transportat
The bridge is looking and just a bonus that all of us who are so fortunate to live here in the bay area, will be able to enjoy. And so today, we will say hello, to the newly span, but we also say good bye to the original version. Perhaps, a few comparisons between the old and the new are in order and you can follow along on your screens. The original was completed in the Great Depression and the new bridge as we weathered the great recession. And the cost was a little different between the two and even if yukon vert the original cost of the whole bridge end to end it is about one billion dollars in todays money and the newly span costs a little bit more than that. The duration of construction was also quite a bit different as well. And they did things a lot faster back then in the 1930s, and for one thing they did not have to tangle with someone as form mittable as willie brown. [ laughter ]. Doing it for many decades after that. Heres the clincher the old one cant withstand the earthq