Eyebar just one of Bay Bridge’s many problems
Despite all the attention it has received, and all the complaining it has caused, the eyebar isn’t the biggest danger on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. And it’s not the reason the span is being replaced - at a cost of $6.3 billion - instead of retrofitted.
Like any old structure, the eastern span has many flaws, and because of its design, is considered more prone than other bridges to collapse during an earthquake. The flaws considered most serious by engineers and geologists include the span’s foundations, its network of steel supports, and the supports for the road deck, which were what failed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.