The Bay Bridge Steel Program, being administered by Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), was created in response to significant public interest from Bay Area artists and creative communities in making steel from the original 1936 East Span of the Bay Bridge available for repurposing and reuse.
The old East Span of the Bay Bridge is now in phase two of its demolition. The Bay Bridge Steel Program will make salvaged steel from the demolition available for incorporation into public and civic art projects throughout the State of California.
The Bay Bridge Steel Program, being administered by Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), was created in response to significant public interest from Bay Area artists and creative communities in making steel from the original 1936 East Span of the Bay Bridge available for repurposing and reuse.
The steel that will be made available through this program will be drawn from the second phase of bridge demolition that began this summer. Noted photographer Sam Burbank, who also documented the dismantling of the Carquinez Bridge, has graciously provided the amazing photos on this two-page spread to give our readers an idea of the raw materials that will eventually become public art.
The Bay Bridge Steel Program’s intent is not only to preserve elements of the bridge, but also its legacy as a major landmark and historic icon, by making this salvaged steel available for incorporation into public and civic art projects throughout the State of California. Specific elements sourced from the bridge spans will be salvaged, repaired and cleaned to an established industry standard by the demolition contractor.
The Bay Bridge Steel Program partners hope this exciting opportunity is embraced by a broad range of artists, architects, landscape architects, planners and other design professionals working in the public realm. OMCA agreed to work under the direction of the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee with Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Bay Area Toll Authority to support and administer the process of distributing steel to be salvaged in ways that celebrate the original bridge and its history.
OMCA has seated a highly qualified selection committee with expertise in public art, art administration, landscape architecture, structural engineering and the history of the bridge to review proposed projects and award the available bridge steel. The museum has also engaged an independent program consultant with extensive public art experience to help administer the Bay Bridge Steel Program.
Applications will be considered for projects that are destined for the public realm within the State of California and that meet key criteria, including celebrating or evoking the bridge, its importance as an iconic structure and/or its history in a creative way. The selection committee will review proposals and award specific elements of cleaned and salvaged steel, at no charge, to successful applicants.
It is important to note that this program was established to award grants of bridge steel; it does not provide for funding or ensure that proposed projects will be accepted or approved by the responsible municipal agencies where they are planned. Applicants will be responsible for addressing these and other additional requirements.
Successful applicants will have the material they have requested allocated to them pending their ability to demonstrate that they have secured funding and municipal approvals, after which point the steel will be released to their possession. Applicants must be aware that it is not possible to remove or remediate all of the lead paint or other potential hazards and that applicants will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging that they assume responsibility for the steel and its appropriate use.
Completed applications will be considered in three rounds, with the following application deadlines: Deadline for Group A: October 1, 2015
Deadline for Group B: May 2, 2016
Deadline for Group C: December 1, 2016
More information regarding applications is available at www.useumca.org. Applications will be accepted only through an online application system, www.bay-bridge-steel.slideroom.com, where detailed information about the application process can be found.
ABOUT THE PHOTAGRAPGHER:
Sam Burbank’s career started filming space science-oriented stories and doing a lot of extreme filmmaking at places like Devon Island in the Canadian arctic. He worked for years as a TV host and producer for National Geographic and also documented the dismantling of the Carquinez Bridge, which went on to become one of National Geographic’s most successful engineering stories. You can see more of his work at www.inversesquarefilms.com.
