On Oct. 17, 1989, ABC7 News reporter Leslie Brinkley was crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on her way to a routine assignment. Her story and her life changed in 15 seconds when the bridge collapsed as the Loma Prieta earthquake hit.
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The Bay Bridge had lost one section of the upper deck during the quake and was closed for about a month while the California Department of Transportation made repairs.
In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, one section of the upper deck of the Bay Bridge's eastern span collapsed onto the lower deck. The bridge was closed for repairs for a month.
In Ward's simulations, the wave reaches a maximum height of about 30 feet. “That's barely to the top the pylon,” says Ward, who is confident that the bridge would have no trouble withstanding the wave energy. “It probably wouldn't even touch the steel.”