Caltrans never approved design of Bay Bridge S-curve Engineer's design changes revealed in crash lawsuit

The cab of the truck lay crushed beneath the new S curve area of the Bay Bridge early Monday morning landing on Yerba Buena island and killing the driver November 9, 2009. The cab of the truck lay crushed beneath the new S curve area of the Bay Bridge early Monday morning landing on Yerba Buena island and killing the driver November 9, 2009. Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Caltrans never approved design of Bay Bridge S-curve 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Caltrans managers never approved the perilous design of the Bay Bridge's S-curve - now being demolished to make way for the new eastern span - and authorized the use of portable concrete rails despite the risk of vehicles hurtling over the side, according to documents from a wrongful death suit the state agency recently settled for $700,000.

Details about Caltrans' decision-making emerged in the fight over a Nov. 9, 2009, accident in which a Hayward trucker plunged 200 feet to his death after his rig tipped and rode over the railing. It was the worst in a rash of wrecks that occurred after the curve had been put in place two months earlier.

In 2003, Caltrans officials authorized a sharper curve than would normally be allowed under freeway standards, but said they never approved changes made by a lower level engineer that may have worsened the situation.

Unaware of the tighter curve, other Caltrans officials opted in 2009 to use the movable railing that the agency's own engineers warned had caused vehicles that hit it to ride up and over it.

Attorneys for the family of the trucker, 57-year-old Tahir Fakhar, accused Caltrans of negligence in creating a "concealed trap" by forcing motorists to navigate an overly sharp, unbanked turn with narrow lanes, narrow shoulders and substandard railing.

The documents from the suit suggest Caltrans officials - driven to save money and time in the $6.4 billion project to replace the eastern span of the Bay Bridge - put the public at risk.

However, Caltrans admitted no responsibility when it settled with Fakhar's wife and two children, after trying for three years to assert government immunity. The agency said in a statement Thursday that the death was a "tragic event, and we hope the settlement can bring closure to the family."

Caltrans attorney Landa Low said in a court filing that the agency believes Fakhar was to blame, in part for speeding in an overloaded rig. The agency settled, Low said, to "buy their peace" and avoid further legal costs.

Fakhar's family said Caltrans wasn't the only entity to blame, and the trucking and shipping firms have agreed to pay a total of $950,000. After he picked up pears from the Port of Oakland, Fakhar apparently hauled 3 1/2 tons more than his authorized load weight - making his rig more prone to tipping.

Unaware of sharp curve

As Fakhar approached the bridge, his attorneys asserted in a filing during the legal proceedings, "He did not know that a sharply curved detour had been installed." They said his speed "conformed to the (50 mph) speed limit posted on the bridge for decades."

Fakhar's rig tipped as it hit a part of the curve that was not banked - though a bank had been designed. It slid up against a temporary concrete railing and plunged to Yerba Buena Island below.

What Caltrans knew about the S-curve emerged in documents obtained during the suit.

They show the agency knew that the curve, which a contractor designed in 2003, did not meet urban freeway standards set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials - an organization whose guidelines Caltrans normally follows.

Caltrans' rules allowed it to issue a waiver of such restrictions as long as it was justified by a chief engineer. The agency documented a plan to make the curves sharper and with limited banking.

Other exceptions justified by Caltrans were narrower lanes and shoulders. To address the risk, the plan was to lower the speed limit to 45 mph and advise motorists to drive 40. The key basis cited for the exceptions was cost.

"Because of the temporary nature of this project, as well as structural, environmental and political constraints, the additional cost to (meet standards) is an extremely large number," the waiver document states. "The double-deck temporary bypass structure is estimated to save $10 million and take two years off the ... construction time."

The project's chief design engineer, Michael Thomas - who has retired from Caltrans and could not be reached for comment - approved the waiver in 2003. More than three years later, the bridge's engineers and architects, from T.Y. Lin International, wanted an even tighter S-curve, something that only Thomas could approve.

T.Y. Lin engineers said they did not have the expertise to seek a waiver for the change, and Caltrans officials did not seek one. In the end, no one asked Caltrans managers for permission for the sharper turn, Thomas testified in a deposition.

Ultimately, the S-curve was made tighter under plans drawn up by Caltrans engineer Cheuk Hong Wong. But Thomas, the manager in charge of design modifications, said in a deposition that Wong never talked to him about the changes.

Conflicting statements

Wong has given conflicting statements about his decision, suggesting it was authorized and also saying he figured that lowering the speed limit would be a sufficient safeguard.

In the end, Wong's exceptions were not authorized. He now lives in China and could not be reached.

The documents from the suit also raise questions about the railing that the rig toppled over. The original plans called for a different type of railing, but Caltrans managers preferred K-rail, portable barriers that could be moved quickly under deadline constraints, records show.

But in an e-mail in April 2009, a Caltrans crash engineer, John Jewell, cited a video on the agency's website that he said illustrated "the problem" of how vehicles could run over the side.

Still, Mike Whiteside, a senior engineer overseeing the project, said in an e-mail that K-rail would be used.

"We are moving forward" with K-rail, he wrote in the e-mail to Caltrans barrier specialist Tillat Satter, asking for his view on the "sensitive issue."

Satter responded that K-rail did not meet Caltrans' criteria and "can not be placed on the edge of the deck." But Whiteside said the decision was merited "because this is a temporary structure that is within a construction zone."

Meanwhile, records show, Caltrans officials who were in charge of posting warning signs alerting motorists to the danger of the S-curve did not know enough about the design, and installed what the family's traffic experts said were inadequate warnings.

Only after Fakhar's death did Caltrans install more visible signs. It also added rumble strips - which change the noise a tire makes to slow drivers - and installed protective metal fencing atop the temporary railing.

After tracking 48 accidents in the weeks after the S-curve opened, crashes decreased.