it is true that nothing worth doing it easy but it's certainly worthwhile. it pridz it's travelers with a safe package. we'll think less about the controversies and instead call out the human spirit that built this privilege this is a human triumph thank you very much (clapping) >> it is now my great pleasure pleasure to introduce the chairman of the department of transportation. malcolm (clapping) >> thank you secretary kelly or

brian. i can't tell you how happy i'm not named brian but there is not a happier person in this room. today is a monumental day a day to look at this tremendous structure that will provide safety black or white from oakland to so far. and this is the world's largest bridge this is a wonderful thing. we're opening this bridge so out last every one of us here and those who built the bridge will be able to tell their grandkids and it will survive the biggest quake. that's why we built this bridge and that's where we're opening

it on this weekend for seismic safety. today marks the completion of not only this project but the california trance retrofit program. 24 is the last of 9 bridges 7 of which are in the bay area and they've been respected to accumulate safety. we've yupd more than 34 hundred bridges for safety. cancels i can't understand depend upon their bridges. the old bridge has been part of the life in the area for 7 seven years but it's time for an upgrade. every bridge has a story the old bring has a story and i believe that the new bridge already has a story a story of beauty and

construction safety. we honor those from the great demonstration that built the first bridge and from this day forward we'll honor folks that built this bridge on this labor day. i want to tip my hat to my predecessors and there is one more and i welcome him but i stand on the shoulder of my predecessors. there are so many people who invested in this bridge and i couldn't possiblyly name all of those involved but i will at risk try to identify some of the key figures. t y end and dennis changing -

(calling names) (clapping) i've got 3 more don mcdonald, herb roth man, and clooif. (clapping). those individuals and a many others are responsible for the iconic structure. i'll tip my hat to the contracting forces that built this bridge and 34 are mentioned by mr. flowers but i'll also

acknowledge because we're eternal indebted to them the many contractors and subcontractors that made this happen. please give them another round of applause. i'm going to take the risk of naming a few individuals i'll end up leaving some folks out. the toll bridge program is mr. tony (clapping) tony your help along the way was much appreciated. brian has been mentioned

engineer extraordinaire. the project manager is tim. just one the principle managers is steve (clapping) and i will read off for you names who are heavily involved in the construction effort and i'll ask them to stand. they're here every weekend. (calling names) (clapping) if you four could please stand up (clapping) >> those individuals are only a

small representation of the amount of effort that went in and the others and i thank them all. i have an enormous amount of respect and others who made a significant contribution. i want to thank other and my cohorts on other committee. and one other person there are a group of people i have to thank is the california highway patrol. we couldn't have done this without them (clapping) >> commissioner farrell from top to bottom and skill that we

couldn't have done without and i thank you. again personally. i'll name two otherville's the pier review panel we enlisted to help guide us to make sure we were making the best decisions and two of those individuals are here (calling names) i'm eternally grateful to you two (clapping) >> and to the people of the bay area. this is your bridge. this bridge is fitting for this region and this great two cities and this great state. congratulations to all this is what we've been working for for many years and i wounl be a happier department director. i've been warned next not to do

this but we will open this bridge tonight (clapping) well ahead of the 5:00 a.m. target. sorry i had to do it but we will open this bridge tonight. earlier in the program we heard from the mayor quan and now it's my pleasure to introduce the mayor at the end of the bridge of san francisco mayor ed lee. (clapping) >> thank you malcolm. if i may start off by saying i just want to join in everyone else's great presentation and deep presentation for all of the contractors and the men and

women who have built and designed this bridge before also want to thank steve because we've grown accustomed to a assuring voice positive face on this promise and i just want to say thank you steve because you helped all of us think as a bay area not just as an individual cities and counties. thank you to steve (clapping) aqua net and i rode over the oops way on the new span and marveled at being able to do that. perhaps the only time in our lifetime expect if you're in the custody of the highway patrol.

in 193 of the east and west came together to celebrate this largest bridge of its time. and i know while it took a while today wire once again coming together to celebrate this innovative design we know will be an icon around the world. thank you, mayor brown for your push for a that iconic design the the idea of opening at night will see the splendor light. because we shouldn't just have a bridge we should have a symbol of resilience, of accomplishment of honor to all the men and women who participated in this and that's what we'll have for generations to come. navigate one thousand 5 hundred

years to come. thank you very much willie brown for that. and what an incredible moment in history. that we have both mayors of san francisco and oakland being chinese-americans. we're linked to help build railroads with many of the chinese immigrants coming to san francisco to join in the immigration station just to reach our shores. this new bridge will not be just an engineer marvel but carrying 2 hundred and 80 thousand vehicles between san francisco and the east bay each day and hundreds of thousands of bicyclists at the same time.

today marks the historic part of our region but it's a long ending of a long chapter after the 1989 earthquake. just 29 years ago it took 63 lives. and we were forced to with & an accepted opportunity to build something better. in my city because of the earthquake the embark freeway is gone. now the service retrofit of today's bay bridge will insure that when the next massive earthquake hits our infrastructure will withstand that. it serves as ingenuity and it

will help us. as we say thank you to the contractors and the engineers, the men and women in our labor force and their representatives and as they go on to other bridges, other transportation projects like bart extensions as we say goodbye and as their role becomes less visible and as they go into comfortably and maintaining it we say hello again to the california highway patrol to the men and women who work in the san francisco police departments who along every single day will work with caltrans to welcome in all of the commuters to make sure they're safe and to certainly make sure that bicyclists are

safe as well on our bridge. in closings our heart feel congratulations to everyone. it's an exciting day for san francisco and for oakland and for the bay area as what we celebrate the bay bridge. and now, please allow me to introduce perhaps the coolest guy in the room former mayor lieutenant governor gavin 92 some >> thank you everyone i thought it generous and steve said you get to speak as the keynote so long as all the previous speakers combined. i have been standing up for two

hours so, i say brace yourself. i'll be brief. i guess the first thoughts that come to mind as a former jesuit in training gods delays are not gods denials. the second thing listening to brian as they went on to appropriately recognize everyone in this room. most of you have been recognized that the old adage or the old sue that plato once thrust if there was any hope for the future those with lanterns any pass them on. of the faith and devotion of the project through every consecutively and challenging opposition you guys were able to

bring us to where we are today. i want to say a few words but mayor lee and i share the experience. i had a chance to drive out here and many of i have had the expense as you look at the old bridge. it started robbery-murder me of something i read about tom brooke asia book called the greatest generation. he talks about the generation of world war ii. it started making me think about california in the 50s and 70s. no state in america over those decades had jobs like that we grew 3.7 percent with the nation hat 2.4 percent.

we were building bridges and airports and the like. i think about the book mark of the last thirty years over the 50s and 60s and 70s. we must mash those numbers up. we're no longer the tenth pole of the american committee no longer are we growing at the substantial rate we've gm become average. it's like the american dream. we move from the greatest generations to the grasshopper generation eating up everything in sight. no longer save and invest the grasshopper generation they borrow and spend and so it seems

like this is the day to think about the future and get back to the future business to start investing in that formula that defined the state of draermz and entrepreneurs and innovativeers who have been on the leading elsewhere. we represent a regeneration of sort. revisit in sustainable values from a long term prospective. not the situational values that define the last if you decades where we focused on more what the situation calls for the 24 hour news cycles whatever the election require me to do in

order though get ahead to focus on sustainability but investing in the future. so i want to thank all of you for being part of that regeneration. i want to thank all of you for your commitment to the great cause of this state so we can move past the stale debate about solvency as incredibly important as it is but focusing on greatness. that's cancels fate and that will be our future so this the significant part of it. let me close by picking up on what brian said. i saw this great documentsy about the building of santa maria are a in italy. it was built in the 15 century

about 50 years before columbus set sail. it was a testament not have their proud past there was nothing - it was something new to behold. the architect at that time was renowned brunn less phillip to. he was asked over and over again about his greatness and genus by he said what malcolm was saying he said it was not my genus but the genius of underscore incidence railroad the most important people are ail those who are about to enjoy something for a generation. the genius of the people of san francisco, oakland the entire

bay area, northern california and this great state we should celebrate today because if not for their willingness to exercise their faith none of us would get to enjoy the fruits of your last year. so it's now i am prepared having come late because of my 10 minute internship on figuring out how one takes a chain and not a rope and prepares to cut it. i look forward after steve makes some final remarks to inviting you out for that great moment. congratulations everybody

(clapping) >> thank you lieutenant governor. i did hear him as a 10 minutes so i would give him more. governor schwarzenegger ruined a good suit so a word of warning. the first of the project management team that has helped us for 8 years now (calling names) gentlemen take a b beau >> we all owe a great gratitude to a army of folks who put this together. i'd like to acknowledge mark of

hartman studios whose probably out there working (clapping) and randy who's been in and out of the room from m t c enterprises. there he is. malcolm i believe we missed one caltrans director. i've worked with 8 of them and i'm counting on 8 of them. randy, randy here (clapping) and my two predecessors are here thank you both for being here (clapping) >>. now for those of you who haven't been living in a cave we've had some trouble with bolts. and about 15 of those television

cameras caught it. the meeting have been tough by the necessary. the last one in july was the toughest yet. at the end of the morning we were ready for some cocktails and a something really magical happened >> i'd like to call about this lady. >> i want to come before you in 17989 the earthquake collapsed the eastern section of the bay bridge. as the bridge nearsighted completion a one 14 inch trowel was attached to the bridge now the trowel knows it's been completed what will happen tlafrp. could the problem be that the trowel knows about this what

will happen to our creature a sign of our strengthen who kept us from harm's way. let's save the trowel. thank you >> thank you (clapping) and a oh, guys horrify oh, no, no, no. we got it all this way. weeks of secrecy. i want to introduce the woman i just saw she's here today. where is she? there she is god bless you. she's here and now that the old span is closed so is the trowel >> gentlemen do our duty

(clapping). >> if you'd like to have your picture taken with the trowel heel then return to a secure disclosed location until we can find him a permanent home. this includes our program. we've spent a long time talking about about that. look at that trowel it's getting a lot of action. for those who want to see the formal chain cutting ceremony there's about plenty of folks we're generally heading that way. i'll ask our dignitaries to follow me out and thank you again for being here for argue region, our state and our

nation. and we have two people that were there in 1936 when the bay bridge opened. pete. pete snuck into the ceremony and today he was invited. and luis frazier who is seated right there. she rode in the opening prayed as ms. agriculture and she is 99 years old and can be anything she wants to be today. nearly 17 years ago another governor named pete wilson made the decision that the span bridge should be replaced rather retrofitted. governor wilson deserves our thanks for that kisser age act.

annoy in 2013 with the lieutenant governor of california who in the governors presents if you have any bills to talk about. but now we have a chain to cut. >> thank you steve and again, thank you to all the extraordinary men and women what made this possible and this extraordinary folks who made many possible. it's been said that bridges are monuments to progress and as i stand between mayor lee and mayor quan i hope this is more than just connecting two landmasses. i hope that the progress that's been represented to the a moment

for a generation to dream big dreams and do big things. it's with that that i now want to ask all of you to participate in a count down and then be partial with me as i do what i was told not what willie brown suggested i do. he suggested i use my teeth to cut the cheney more wisely am listening to other folks and will be pitting on gloves and appropriately putting on those very good looking sin glaze. so together