SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California transportation officials have found a relatively inexpensive treatment meant to prevent hundreds of bolts and rods on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge from cracking.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the new fix is a so-called "grease cap'' that was installed on 192 rods used to fasten seismic safety equipment.
The $189,000 fix comes after 32 of the rods snapped last year after being tightened.
Crews have placed cans filled with a special grease over the nuts on the heads of the rods, which acts as a shield against hydrogen damage, which leads to cracking.
The California Department of Transportation is studying more than 2,000 other at-risk components to see if the grease caps will work as protection.
Caltrans Installs “Grease Cap” for Bay Bridge Bolts
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