Bay Area officials have announced that the San Francisco bay bridge is going to be the subject of scheduled construction work. To make that happen, commuters will be redirected to a detour. The construction itself is not that interesting. The way it will be communicated to users is.
The Bay Bridge Public Information Office is using real-time computer graphics to show exactly what’s going to happen and what things will look like. The iPad+iPhone app has been developed by Project Visualization, using the Unreal Engine, the same used in the Infinity Blade game.
This is a far-cry from older-style announcements where the complete description of the work was done… in text. Although great for official records, textual communication is probably not the best way to convey highly visual information. The app can be found in the App Store under the “bay bridge explorer” name.
In a time where the Bay Bridge retrofit is under fire for cost overruns (in the Billions), this might explain why authorities have been so keen to put the project in the best light. The SF Examiner has a long post on that topic and as far back as 2009 SF Public Press was already pointing out ballooning costs.
Here’s the official plan, from http://baybridgeinfo.org/otd_detour:
Oakland, May 17, 2011 – Motorists driving on the lower deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will experience a slightly different approach into Oakland after this Memorial Day weekend. While speed limits will remain the same, eastbound drivers should be prepared for the small detour as they emerge from under the upper deck.
Construction for this detour will not require a full bridge closure. While the bridge will remain open for the holiday weekend, select eastbound lanes will be closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Saturday, May 28 and Sunday, May 29. Eastbound traffic will still have access during these limited lane closures and westbound traffic will not be impacted.
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