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 bridge available for repurposing and reuse. The program’s intent is to preserve elements of the original 1936 East Span of the Bay Bridge, as well as its legacy as a major landmark and historic icon, by making salvaged steel available for incorporation into public and civic art projects throughout the State of California.

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 (TBPOC) with Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Bay Area Toll Authority (MTC/BATA) to support and administer the process of distributing steel to be salvaged in ways that celebrate the original bridge and its history.

The steel that will be made available through this program will be drawn from the second phase of bridge demolition, scheduled to begin during the summer of 2015. Specific elements will be sourced from the bridge spans referred to as “504’s” and “288’s” (in reference to their length in feet). See Exhibit II-A: East Span Demolition Fact Sheet. Material will be salvaged, repaired and cleaned to an established industry standard by the demolition contractor.

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. Specific selection criteria are outlined in the materials available for download below. 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 fro addressing these and other additional requirements described in the materials available for download.

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. Salvaged steel will be cleaned to an accepted industry standard (See Exhibit II-F: Material Fact Sheet). 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. (Exhibit II-G: Materials Transfer Agreement)