Report Claims New Bay Bridge Bolts Contain Banned Alloy

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has more than 1,200 bolts made from galvanized steel that is virtually identical to a high-strength alloy that a nationwide group of transportation officials banned for use on bridges because the bolts can crack.

Caltrans said last week that it was testing 192 bolts on the bridge that are similar to 32 galvanized bolts that cracked when workers tightened them in March.

In its Sunday edition the Chronicle reports that the failed bolts were among 96 supplied in 2008 by Ohio-based Dyson Corp. -- the same firm that delivered the batch of 192 bolts two years later.

Documents examined by the Chronicle show that the state has purchased 932 other fasteners for the bridge in the past five years that -- like the failed bolts -- were made of high-strength, galvanized steel.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)