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Article: Caltrans OK'd contract on bridge without provisions to protect fish.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- January 17, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Lisa Vorderbrueggen
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. _ Caltrans and wildlife regulators knew pile-driving kills fish nearly two years before the Benicia bridge contractor's immense hammer sent a 2-foot striped bass flying out of the water and detonated a modest-size sturgeon.
A pile-driving test conducted for the new east span of the Bay Bridge in April 2001 concluded that two types of fish protection systems "noticeably reduced the (fish) kill rate."
But seven months later, Caltrans awarded a construction bid for the Benicia span with no provisions to protect aquatic life from ultra-noisy pile-driving.
State and federal environmental ...