part of the cost to keep drivers on the new bridge safe, tom -- >> reporter: all this work deep from san francisco to oakland had to be done. and for it we got double protection, but the real cost, 7-1/2 billion dollars. we get protection for commuters when a truly major earthquake would strike. the bridge can provide protection on the expected earthquakes every 15 years. it begins on the one mile long elevated freeway above the streets of san francisco known as the western approach which was done seven years ago. done without halting traffic while caltrans placed a new set of roadways in the very same footprint. cost, $430 million. the much much retrofitted and upgraded western suspension

span is another mile. it was completed nine years ago and cost $470 bin. through the tunnel now, to the $6.4 billion new span, the transition structure leading to the signature span is 1,500 feet long. the self-anchored suspension span adds 2,000 new feet. the sky way is 6,500 feet long. the oakland touchdown adds another 4,200 feet. all told the entire project stretches just under 32,000 feet, 6 miles all in all about 7-$5 million in costs. and note this, in today's dollars the $77 million spent for the original bay bridge adjusted for inflation would be $1.25 million. but remember that bridge was only built to resist wind. not a total seismic bridge. which would have made it more

expensive if it could have been done at all. tom vacar, ktvu channel 2 news. a new bay bridge is becoming quite a tourist destination. >> i loved it. it's beautiful. they did a great job. it profiles the city beautifully. i mean as the backdrop. >> i really like the architecture of the bridge. it's really beautiful. next time i'm not driving i'm going to take a picture. >> reporter: and many did. we saw one woman holding a cell phone through the sunroof. traffic seemed heavier than usual this morning but they say once they were on that bridge things flowed smoothly. >> oh, yeah. i think this is the happiest moment in my life. for tonight. i think people did not appreciate it. but as a toll taker they were saying, thank you, you got to open early. i said thank you.

>> the toll taker said he had never seen so many people happy to take their money. some people took his picture and several people asked for his photograph. and you can get the latest on ktvu.com. going over the new bay bridge from san francisco to the east bay bright red. also red red along the east bay there. pretty typical for an evening commute. opening day isn't just good news for drivers it's a welcomed milestone for bicyclists who fought long and hard for a bike path on the new bridge. ktvu's john sasaki took a two wheeled tour today. john how was it? >> reporter: it was actually beautiful julie. i tell you, this is a day that several people told me that they were looking forward to for quite some time and as you can see behind me there are some people who are enjoying the bay here on the new bike and pedestrian path way in a whole new way. it's a first for this part of the bay. a bridge upon which people can

walk or ride their bicycles. >> great view, you see the old and the new. and you kind of wonder what it's going to be like when the old bridge is gone but this new bridge, this new span is pretty great. >> reporter: we road on a bike and pe december treu -- and pedestrian span shortly after it opened. >> i thought it was going to be complicated, too many people here. we finally said, we're not going any where, let's go for it and it was pretty easy. >> reporter: that did not seem to defer anyone. >> we've been waiting a long time for it. we're really enjoying being out here and seeing the old and the new. it's great. >> reporter: just like in the lanes of traffic there is a speed limit here on the bike path. a speed limit going up and down of 15 miles per hour. the path is on the south side of the bridge with the old bridge right across the water

looks like an era gone by as one man told me. >> i lived in this area practically my whole life. but this here bridge is a marvel. >> reporter: this group of men with a big cross to bare are from a west oakland church and wanted to use the bay bridge to spread their message of people going by. >> some people are perplexed. some people are angry but the majority of them are full of joy. >> reporter: the path way will stay open until 10:00 tonight. i can tell you after driving the bridge last night, the views will be fantastic tonight as well. john sasaki, ktvu news. the highway patrol says it handled the new crash about 11:00 this morning. our crew was on a ride along with the highway patrol this afternoon when we came across another crash involving vehicles that had just come off the new bridge. it doesn't appear that anyone was seriously hurt. no official tally on citations that have been issued so far but one officer tells us he has

written at least one speeding ticket and issued several warnings for dangerous and distracted driving. and stay with ktvu channel 2 news for in-depth coverage of the new bay bridge opening. at 6:30 tonight, we have a special its opening and how we got here. and investigators are looking into the discovery of a body. the case has not been ruled a homicide. >> a plan to hire hundreds of police officers in san jose is headed for a vote tonight. robert handa live in san jose where the idea is a contentious one, robert. >> reporter: well that vote was taken and it was taken just about an hour ago and with it an attempt by the city of san jose to restore staffing and waging. and officials here at city hall say they want to make the police department a top

priority. but people including officers are asking where will the money come from. the city council voted on a restoration plan. a short time ago the council voted 10-1 to to forward but moments ago the police officers association ridiculed the plan and called the vote a farce. >> reporter: i >> reporter: -- >> i would call it a waste of time and an attempt by several council members, ricardo in particular to run for mayor. there are no numbers in it. the numbers in i don't add up. this is an attempt to show boat. >> reporter: i suspect that i or the mayor come up with a

cure for cancer, the iopa would find a way to block it. >> reporter: the acting police chief answered some questions about staffing. city staff will return with details on implementing the plan in about three week. live in san jose, robert handa, ktvu channel 2 news. a guilty verdict this afternoon in the high profile case of the former danville police officer charged with taking payments from a private investigator to make drunk driving arrests. prosecutors layed out a claim that said butler used women to entize men in the middle of a divorce to go drinking at a

bar. a search is still under way for a man accused of killing two women. investigators believe the suspect may be identified by injuries he sustained in that crash. >> it was a pretty, pretty gruesome scene out there. the accident itself so we're thinking that the suspect when he took off was injured. >> the victims are identified as 63-year-old carmen zavala and cristina de leon. a driver of a mercedes slammed into them. the two women were on their way to work at near by manetta san jose airport. a memorial service was held tonight for a popular danville teenager who was killed in a car crash last week. robert orlando was 17 years old and about to start his senior year at san ramon valley high school. friends say he loved to fish. orlando was with two friends when their car crashed into a

tree last monday night. the other two survived. the moraga school district has now reached a settlement with a former student who claims she was abused by a teacher. the district says it paid jane doethree. two more victims are still suing the district. those weights used in the america's cup are causing problems tonight. the america cup's committee penalized team oracle. that means the team will have to win 11 races instead of nine to win the best of 17 series and keep the america's cup. in addition the jury fined

oracle $250,000. social media site lynked in announced an increase in its stock. but it dropped today in afterhours trading. pg & e announced plans today to vent natural gas lines tomorrow on the peninsula. the utilities says that venting will be done during daylight hours in redwood city just northwest of edge wood road and highway 280. pg & e says people who live in that area you may hear and smell gas as it vents but pg & e says it will not be harmful. the utility says it needs to release the gas so that crews can work on a pipe. a show down happening now

over gun control in california. the rush to pass a round of controversial laws before a fast approaching deadline. >> a pleasant start to the workweek but things things are going to heat up. the timing. but first, burglarizing your home while you're out in the backyard. >> this is a bay area problem. >> we reveal the new clue that could help police put a stop to this. [ trina ] i'm a student at devry university.

and these are my roommates. this is one of my favorite professors. and so is this. this is my academic advisor. and also my cheerleader. and when i finish my degree in business... a new job, at a great company... that's the graduation present i want. [ male announcer ] in 2012, 90% of devry university grads actively seeking employment had careers in their field in 6 months. find your career success in the bay area. learn how at devry.edu.

>> back now to the new bay bridge and right now news chopper 2 is over head as the bicycle coalition is preparing to ride across the new bike path there on the new eastern span of the bay bridge. they started at the west oakland b.a.r.t. station. there's about 100 bicyclists

from our count. at some point perhaps in the middle of next year or so, the bike path will extend all the way to yerba buena island. but right now the path only goes to the suspension bridge. as john sasaki reported, there's a speed limit that is being enforced on that bike track, 15 miles per hour. that's as fast as you can go and there are bicycle police officers on those bike paths to give you a ticket if you exceed that speed limit. oakland police tonight are usualing the public about a pair of burglars posing as pg & e workers -- oakland police are urging the public about a pair of burglars posing as pg & e

workers. >> they have burglarizing the the homers while they're in the backyard inspecting for easements, pipes whatever they're using. >> and there may be other rings throughout the bay area. ktvu's ken pritchett join us now as sacramento is about to vote on many of these bills that cover anything from assault weapons to ammunition, ken. >> reporter: there are no fewer than 11 new control bills headed to the governor's desk. advocates say that effort is a waste of time. >> reporter: the december 2012 sandy hook shooting with the death of 20 children and six adults was to many a call to push for gun control legislation. that momentum largely fizzled in washington but not so in

sacramento. change was promised now many of those bills face a final vote at the capital. >> no one bill is going to always take care of all the problems that we have. but i think that when you look at each of the bills they can in fact, help the situation we're in. >> reporter: leland yee has angled gun advocates with the so called rapid bullet bill. other gun control bills all sponsored by democrats includings a bill that expands the legislation of weapons. that had been grandfathered in. >> now all of a sudden if this law passes, then all of the law- abiding gun owners who previously followed these

standard capacity magazines are considered criminals. >> reporter: they can overwell -pl the court, bills they argue could become laws only to be cast aside later. >> you take a look at any of these bills and they're not going to pass. >> reporter: the democrats are pushing ahead with a wide range in gun control agenda with much of the proposed bills bills still on the table. >> hopefully congress will see if it can be done in california it can be done in other states and then the entire country. >> reporter: lawmakers are in a rush, they have 10 days to pass these bill s if the bills pass they then go to the governor's desk. ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. firefighters believe an electric ceiling fan caused the fire at john lucas ranch. the damage including the roof and some office furniture is

estimated at $25,000. the california legislature passed two bills today that extends the access for clean air vehicles. >> we want to continue to incentivize the vehicle makers. >> both bills now face one procedural vote before they head to the governor's desk. a day today a lot like yesterday. tomorrow looks like today. except maybe a little warmer in a couple of places. here are the numbers for today. livermore at 87. a couple of degrees maybe down a degree. it's going to be very similar to what we saw today. then temperatures turn around as this low pressure center

exits town. the cooler bay area holiday weekend. if it stays there this whole week will stay cool. and it's going to move off so that high pressure will replace it. when high pressure replaces it. it's going to start to sink. the fog is going to become minimized at the coast. and low 80s in the inland bay valleys, upper 90s as we head into the bay area weekend. that's pretty mild. 75 in liver -- livermore. this time of day. saturday and sunday it gets hot around here in the inland bay valleys. and 90s will become the norm in the inland bay valleys. there's the low. that low is going to be with us tomorrow. so temperatures just like we saw today. very similar, a little warmer here, a little cooler there. subtle changes you won't notice much of a difference tomorrow. you will notice a big difference as we head into thursday though. the fog forecast in for the morning hours it's just patchy. the fog is not really well formed along the coast. i think it can be a little more

aggressive about this. we have a little fog here, it burns off. we will see sunshine at the coast tomorrow. some breezy conditions too. but those are 80s those oranges. that's where we stand today. high pressure pinches the marine layer down. i don't even know if there will be fog at the coast. marine layer is just fog at the coast but it is going to warm up as the high pressure starts to move in. tomorrow 84 in brentwood. these are pleasant, mild fall like. it's not fall but fall like daytime highs and some mid-60s along the coast. so the five day forecast shows you the warm up that's headed your way. so thursday is the day you go wow it is hot. friday is the day you say yeah, it's getting really hot. i don't know what you're really going to say. but but saturday and sunday

temperature get close to triple digits. the new bay bridge structure is getting rave reviews but what about the rush hour drive? we continue to monitor tonight's evening commute. and a new skyscraper that literally sizzled. why investigators are calling near by car spaces simply too hot for cars. join us tonight at 6:00. we're getting a glimpse on what apple has in store. the clue this picture might have about the new generation of iphones.

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sweet onion chicken teriyaki and even the italian bmt. with tons of $5 footlongs, we need an entire month to celebrate. so hurry in! ♪ at subway today apple sent out these invitations to the media and it may offer some clues on what's going to happen. the invite shows brightly colored circles with an apple circle. reports are that apple is planning to roll out a less expensive apple iphone along with its new iphone. >> is there a song like that. are you ready for some football. the goal for the 49ers is pretty simple.

get back to the super bowl and this time come home with a trophy. it's unusual for a rookie to be a starter on such a veteran team. but that's the case for eric reed. reed excelled playing alongside veteran donte whitner. both with his actions and his voice. whitner is starting his third year with the 49ers and eighth in the league and he's doing for reed what others did for him. >> when i came to the national football league. the safety was venson. he was 15, 16 years i tried to soak up every bit of information from him. that's what eric is doing with me. just pass on what i've acquired from other guys to him and hopefully one day he does the same thing. chris mccain, mccain was penalized and ejected for this hit on north western quarterback semion on saturday

night. he was judged to a violated a targeting rule designed to protect player safety. the ejection would have meant mccain had to sit out the game against north western state. but the ejection has to a part of a review. that was not done so he has returned to the game. serena williams came about as close as you can in her match today. leonardo de caprio and david shuimer in attendance. up next here the new bay

bridge is open. ktvu channel 2 news next with a special in-depth look at the opening and how we got to this historic day. and engineers say the new span is seismically safer but we'll take a look at the status of testing on those broken bolts to make sure the bridge can withstand the kind of earthquake it's designed for. our special is next.