teacher

Kansas City Woman Feared for Her Life When Huge Chunk of Concrete Crashed Down in Bay Bridge Tunnel

A woman said she feared for her life when a huge chunk of concrete came crashing down while she was driving in the Bay Bridge tunnel through Yerba Buena Island.

The chunk of concrete, described as the size of a tire, fell in front of Liz Gustin's car on Jan. 30.

"It was big enough to totally take up the windshield," Gustin said in an exclusive interview with NBC Bay Area. "I definitely thought it would be a head-on collision crash.

Gustin, who was driving on the eastbound lanes, said she slammed on her brakes bracing for impact.

"We were screaming in the car," she said.

The two-foot chunk on concrete scraped along one her vehicle's tires and popped it.

The incident left Gustin, a teacher from Kansas City, wondering about the safety of the bridge.

"I thought the purpose of the rebuild was to make it sound for what I heard for earthquakes, but it wasn't an earthquake that Saturday. That piece just fell."

The piece of concrete fell from the arch inside the Yerba Buena Island tunnel, which is the link between the new eastern and western span of the Bay Bridge.

A report now said the 80-year-old tunnel is showing signs that some of its steel reinforcements are corroding.

Caltrans have said investigators are looking into the issue.

"If it were unsafe we'd shut it down," Caltrans spokesman Robert Haus said. "We've been out there since, inspecting the areas of damage and looking for other ares where the concrete doesn't look as strong as it should."

Gustin said she would like to get help from Caltrans to replace her tire.

Caltrans said there is a process she must go through online and apply for a refund, which will take about six weeks.

Contact Us