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Gov. Gray Davis officially launched construction of the new eastern span of the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge Tuesday, saying the project's primary goal was safety, and its secondary goal was to relieve congestion. 

But at a time when the employment rate is still in slumping, some are looking at the project as providing a third service – the project will create approximately 67,000 jobs. 

Other goals of the East Bay Bridge project is to protect the bay’s environment, according to statements made by Davis’ office. 

“This project is about more than just getting commuters to their jobs faster and safer. It’s about creating new jobs,” Davis said. “At least 67,000 new jobs – enough to fill every seat in the Oakland Coliseum. This project isn’t just a spark for our troubled economy. It’s a full-fledged bonfire.” 

The governor’s office stated that the project will add $8 billion to California’s struggling economy. 

But locally, the larger concern some may have is how long the construction will take – approximately 1,000 working days – how the more than 100,000 tons of structural steel will be shipped onto the bridge and the $2.6 billion price tag. 

It is the largest public works project in California and the largest ongoing bridge project anywhere in North America.  

“It’s taken us more than 10 years to get this far. It is a massive project and there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it. But right now, we’re celebrating,” said Colin Jones, Caltrans spokesperson. 

The road thus far has been paved by disputed financial projections and timelines. But the bulk of the opposition has been about the design and alignment of the bridge, and has primarily come from the city of San Francisco and the U.S. Navy. 

The construction of the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge was originally announced by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, and at the time it was the largest and longest bridge in the world. Also, during the same year, construction began on the more glamourous, much anticipated Golden Gate Bridge. The Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate followed one year later.  

“The Bay Bridge is the work hours of the greater Bay Area,” Jones said. “It’s really the centerpiece of the transportation system – from the East Bay to the city or commuters from Contra Costa.” 

According to Jones, this expansion project will make the Bay Bridge the safest bridge in the world. 

“And after Sept. 11, and the hint of there being a military attack on the bridge, that is a very real concern to people,” Jones said. “The bridge will be able to withstand a major earthquake on either (Hayward or San Andreas) faults.”  

The project will link Oakland to Yerba Buena Island in the middle of the bay, where westbound motorists will proceed onto a seismically retrofitted western span to arrive in San Francisco. 

Jones said the new span, expected to be completed in 2006, will also provide bike/pedestrian lanes. 

“There’ll be bike lanes, there’ll be better views,” he added. 

The mega-project is funded by state gasoline tax money, bridge toll fees, revenue bonds and a $450 million loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

The construction plan has been in the works since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  

The westbound roadway is scheduled for completion in 2006 with eastbound traffic on the new span in 2007.