we've been meeting every two weeks, meeting with caltrans, the caltran transportation commission andtaff to hear the latest as to what we're finding out about the problem, about the failures of the bolt and the what solution is. we're looking at two types of solution that will have a cap where the existing bolts failed to be able to do that piece. the second part is what we do about the additional bolts. >> this first part where they snapped, chances are you can have that fixed by labor day. >> exactly. that bridge would not open until that solution is identified and fixed. >> then we have 192 other bolts that are being tested now. that is not essential for opening the bridge but the question is, if they have to be replaced, do you want to do that while traffic is going on. what is the status of that decision? go the -- >> the safety the bridge is paramount. we'll find out on wednesday exactly what the recommendations will be in terms of sequencing and repair. >> do you have any idea who the recommendations will be? >> we don't know yet. we're still testing those other 200 bolts to d

caltrans southbound is 0 is hit and caltrans system has been stopped as you -- if you are taking caltrans they have delays and we just got word bart will honor those and i also have word caltrans has cleared and they are now going to start single tracking trains through the area and again this is a fatal crash in the area and we have major tee lays for caltrans. the only glimmer of hope. train number 3 will be there for the investigation and let's move along for the toll, 237 traffic is light, now 6:09 let's go to steve. >>> well, it is a little cooler and for those of you who bow to that west wind, and some possible rain tomorrow keep an eye on the sky and temperatures are on their way down even continuing that theme. 73 today, santa rosa yes, we talked about this yesterday and i said if a north wind kicks in, it will go 85 or higher 78 and we will drop you to 74. sometimes it is one station that can mean the difference and that's what happened in sonoma county airport yesterday. patchy low clouds, mostly sunny and a couple of reports coming out from martinez, and yesterday afternoon, a

. >> checking up on caltrans. the new move to ensure our safety. >> commuters feel tthe numbers back -- feel it, the numbers back it up. the frustration muni passengers go through every day. to law. the bill has already >>> a move to give illegal immigrants the right to drive in california is one step closer to law. the bill has already passed the assembly and is now headed for the senate. it would affect the two million or so unlicensed drivers in the state. but what will it mean for everybody else on the road? >> reporter: first off, all the unlicensed drivers will finally get the training they need, which means in theory it would make the streets safer and the insurance cheaper for the rest of us. >> reporter: undocumented immigrants who drive without a license say they have no choice. pancho knows quite a few of them. >> people need to drive, go to work, go to the hospitals and everything. every day in life. >> reporter: one 1-8 drivers on the road does not have a license, which means as many as 2 million cali

here the details for the caltran incident.ncident occurred which was at 520, the stop service in both directions between south bonds efforts of san bruno and san francisco. service has been restored go because they are now single tracking past the scene of this incident between seven cisco as ever. as a cover major delays and is affecting the right in both directions. your options are if you want, if northbound you can get off that millbrae and take a bart into san francisco. that will likely city some time. you could even ride apart down to the millbrae station and then transfer to caltran. that might save you at least a portion of the ride through the area where they are single tracking. and if you have a caltran ticket, bart will honor it this morning. let's get back to our accident here and the macarthur made. this is westbound interstate 580. he can see on the map, it is already starting to have an impact on the macarthur made. the accident occurred on that flight over connector ramp. three lines that lead from the maze w

they have a history with caltrans.t year, they helped to conduct a self assessment of how caltrans could improve the way it does business and handles its money. >> caltrans clearly needs an independent review so the issues on the bridge are symptommatic of a much larger problem. >> today caltrans workers continue to breakneck scramble to finish the $10 million fix for the broken bolts, massive steel saddled beneath the bridge, while metropolitan transportation commission director steve struggled to answer questions about when the bridge will open. >> uong there's any way to sugar coat it and that is we're going to need a little more time. >> if anything, i think that what came out of the presentation today is probably more questions than answers. >> well, one answer we do have is how long this review will take. it will happen over a seven-month period, and governor brown is saying he did not order this review specifically because of the problems with the bolts. he says this is all part of his massive reorganization pla

. >>> add another investigation of caltrans. the governor ordered an independent review of the agency now. this could be another distraction as caltrans deals with breaking bolts on the new bay bridge span. and kpix 5 reporter anne makovec is on treasure island with more on new developments. this has become your beat, right, anne? >> reporter: we have been out here talking about bad bolts, faulty welds and corrosion, all of those factors sure to be part of this systemwide investigation that is about to begin. it is going to cost about $270,000 to take a close look inside caltrans' operations. governor jerry brown called for that investigation to be done by an outside research group from wisconsin. caltrans is scrambling to fix problems with the bridge. engineers are crafting a large steel saddle to do the work of 32 bolts that snapped in march. the completion date, unknown. >> confidence in caltrans is something that's completely eroded at this point. we want to reestablish that. >> if anything, i think what came out of the pres

caltran.they think there's a conflict of interest. here is video of the bay bridge bolts . this was recently discovered when they started to install them and they realized they started to crack. there are questions about this out and get to the point where this project was approved and that it got as far as it did before they noticed the cracks. >> some of the law because sank many experts should have told them.>> the only probs according to lawmakers when you are tied to caltran in some form you are afraid for your job and you are not able to be objective. they were hoping to get expert brought in that had no ties to caltrans. that would be not afraid of losing their jobs. caltran said the pulled experts who know about the bay bridge and the work like this is a very small pool. and to find people not connected to caltran is very difficult. plus, they said they told the lawmakers what happened. if you talk to caltran they believe they gave full disclosure. they are surprised that the law maker

. >>> more scrutiny coming from caltrans. the governor has ordered an independent review of the agency and it's all happening as caltrans deals with those breaking bolts on the new span of the bay bridge. kpix 5 reporter anne makovec is on treasure island with more on these new developments this morning. anne, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you know, we have been talking about these problems for months now. a lot of us are wondering how could this happen? how could we understand up with broken bolts and bad welds? all of that is sure to be part of this large-scale investigation that's about to begin. it's going to cost $270,000 to take a close look inside caltrans' operations. now, this is all going on as caltrans is scrambling to fix several problems that have cropped up with the bridge. engineers now crafting a large steel saddle to do the work of 32 bolts that snapped in march. we don't know when they are going to have finished with that fix. governor brown called for this investigation which is going to be done

>>grant: an independent review of caltrans and, any deadlines to determine whether caltran will meet goal with opening during the labor day weekend. officials are now st the july 10th the drop dead date on this decision of the opening. the governor also announcing they ordered and at independent review of caltran. the review coming after a series of issues with the new span including that wells, broken boats and new problems we just learned about today. like issues with the bolts on this a bicycle path which is right next to the stand. caltran says some bolts that keep the railing and place were actually welded incorrectly. the effective both have now been replaced. also deck of lima issues. caltran san the concrete section of the bridge between the span and island wasn't even. one side was a few inches too high. that issue, they say has been corrected as well. according to officials say they are revealing these issues so that the public does not hear them for the first time through the media. now, continuing our coverage we spoke with an engineering experts that is highly critical o

apparently three inquiries, one by caltrans, another one by the u.s. department of transportation and another by a transportation committee. >> i think there are things that pop up, but everyone that i have talked to and everything i have read so far is particularly on the bolts, there were mistakes made. and buying the galvanized bolts was a mistake by their own -- caltrans' standards. >> reporter: after 32 bolts broke during tightening there were questions about 192 more. now caltrans is trying to check thousands of other bolts. phil matier spoke with steve help. inger of the metropolitan transportation commission. >> reporter: did we buy the wrong type of bolts for this structure? >> looking back from today with hindsight, i think looking at different sorts of fasteners in some of these applications might have been made sense. >> reporter: there may be institutional problems that lead to accepting and defending mistakes. >> we have had issues on these big projects about conflicts of interest. these big projects, it's incestuous. there's only a few c

. >>> steve, just getting word breaking news from caltrans, train number 102, this is according to caltrans a pedestrian in south san francisco is what they say and we also heard it from south train, there is a train which has struck a person which is a fatal crash on caltrans and the system has completely shut down because of this. let's move along and at 5:31 let's go back to the desk. >>> we first told you about this on the lockheed martin campus fire is now out. tara is there and tara, this may have been an electrical fire, correct? >> reporter: that is correct. i know fire crews have actually pulled out and behind me there are some emergency, there was so much water used and the sprinkler system went off alerting firefighters and they had an alert for building 150 which does not contain any hazardous materials and we want to mention nobody was hurt. because of how large this campus is they needed the map so it was challenging for crews to find the fire and they finally located it in the center of the building in an office coupe call. >> we moved to the center and located an electrical

>> the governor has ordered an independent review of caltrans. the review is part of a reorganization combining several state transportation agencies into one unit. >> when you put a new regime in place, it's a good time to take a fresh look and see what gives. i think the facts are going to drive a lot of this. the facts on the budget, the facts on the bridge. i'm just trying to follow a middle path of common sense and prudence. >> the goal is for the independent reviewer to take a fresh look at caltrans operations and help improve performance, communication and management. state officials hope the review will help improve trust and transportation projects in california. >>> country music's biggest stars are coming to the aid of the oklahoma tornado victims. the event will raise funds for the united way to assist tornado victims and oklahoma is not in the clear yet unfortunately. right now more tornadoes could be coming, including in moore, oklahoma, which was decimated last week. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking the severe weather o

. >> new trouble for caltrans. turns out the new bay bridge isn't the only one where britel bolts are installed. >> we're going to show you what the patrol found whit went looking for unsafe limos and van autos does the state owe you money? millions of dollars in unclaimed cash for california crime victims. >> a new ultimatum tonight from richmond to chevron. settle wupt city or leave it up to a judge to decide. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> richmond city council is prepared to sue its biggest neighbor in f.necessary but last night the council voted to delay filing that lawsuit. the stri of money and politics. mark? >> chevron knows it's in trouble and now the city are trying to reach a settlement. >> after the fire, hundreds of residents lined up for compensation for ill affects they suffered and chevron said they'd settle the claims but mayor believes the company needs prodding. >> i put forward a motion we hire this law firm that would be potentially filing a civil legal action against chevron for damage auto

that move is in recognition of the fact public confidence has been shaken in caltrans. abc 7 news. >> another survivor of the limousine fire is now home from the hospital. she was discharged from santa clara valley medical center, another victim remains in fair condition. five women died in the fire saturday night. unable to escape the flames that erupted on the way to a wedding celebration. what have you found? >> abc 7 news obtained files on limo stop and have been pouring through hundreds of pages today this, is is what we found. the owner runs the company but does business as one san jose limo and oakland limo. the files show all have seating capacities of nine or less but web site has pictures of several larger limos and party buses. you'll recall the limo had nine passengers one more than this vehicle was allowed to carry. so this may be a violation. the files show p.u.c. had enforcement actions against limo stop. again in 2008 then two years ago. all had to do with limo stop failure to keep up with its liability insurance as well as failing to pay for worker' com

or have worked for caltran.of this they believe that they are employees for caltran and they are afraid to get fired. according to lawmakers is that they have to make sure that they hire people who are not afraid to speak their mind. their job is important. they have to make sure that caltran does everything right including performing test due to earthquakes. lawmakers are talking about because of they are afraid of getting fired and their fund it then they may not be adorned their jobs to the best of their ability. they need to make sure that the bridges safe for everyone. caltran stated that they are engineers who do know what the bridge is about and the project. they stated that it is very difficult to have a lack of confidence. they believe that they were aware of this and that the board told in advance. it is in correlation with caltran and that their supplies are that the lawmakers are surprised. >> its citizens if there is another controversy every day with this project. we will see if they can get it don

caltrans says more than 400 of the safety rods may be vulnerable to the cracking. that is in addition to the bolts that they questioned in march. kpix sue kwon spoke to bridge officials about what they are going to do next. >> reporter: the tower is under scrutiny because of rods threaded inside of the structure. this is from take nen july of 2010. -- taken in july of 2010. showing sections of the tower lowered on to the section and secsured. now there is concern -- secured. now this is question the way these rods were manufactured. they can crack and break like other rods that were locate inside a seismoability part of the structure. more than 2,000 steel faster ins fast -- fasteners have been tested. >> only 96 have been proven to suffered from brittlement. >> reporter: this type of hard steel has been banned from bridges by caltrans. >> why did caltrans choose to use this steel when it seems to go against its own standardss? >> well are cases where you can make exceptions, you take extra precautions when you do make those exceptions. but because we have an ongoi

operations and the way they analyzed this and looked at it. >> caltrans released documents revealing their engineers were persuade bid dus oncorporation to use risky rods on the bay bridge. this letter to the legislature summarizes documents saying caltrans decided on the bolts because the type had been installed on the richmond san rafael bridge. and on the bay bridge will be tightened seven times greater. >> our goal to understand what the thought process was. >> the chair ann worth says whatever mistakes have been made in the past the key now is to fix them and move on. >> as we've said that number one priority is opening the bridge whit safe and ready to do that. >> there is no definite word on whether the bridge will be ready to open byla caltrans expected to appear acting as the toll authority for another update in oakland next week. >> blustery winds today. this is what it was like along san francisco great highway this afternoon. sand pelted passing motorists and turned the road into sand dunes. take a look. for now the great highway is closed in both directions from lincoln

the failure has caltrans scrambling to install a fix for the bridge. today the ceo of dyson corporation said that the bolts were manufactured according to caltrans' requirements up to spec. caltrans' side of that story coming up tonight at 6:00. >>> a close call for some homeowners in hercules. a brush fire burned right up to some homes along highway 4. chopper 5 caught these pictures of scorched backyards on newbury avenue. the blaze started at around 11:45 this morning. and by the time for a fighters had the fire contained, it had charred three acres. crews were able to stop the fire from spreading to homes. but flames did reach some backyard fencing and decks. some neighbors took matters into their own hands and used garden hoses to keep the flames back. >> i just saw a bunch of trucks outside my house, hope my house isn't on fire. my neighbor was out there hosing i guess some of the fire down. it got close to the house but at least the house is still there so that's good. >> the cause of the fire is still under investigation. >>> students at an eas

and caltrans will fix it, not the taxpayers. this morning, crews put up the white plastic cover over the word "milipitas." but some say it is a slap in the face. >> as long as the name is still there i think that is the important part. as long as you fix one mistake and not block the whole name that makes it look even worse. >> reporter: the mayor agrees he is concerned with the name. he feels some may miss it. caltrans says there are other signs that say milipitas and there has not been another sign here for six months. when the new sign goes up, the mayor will be happy to be in charge of quality control. >> m-i-l-p-i-t-a-s. >> reporter: well, we can tell you it will take about a month to put up this sign. but we can also tell you that caltrans admits that this is human error caused in the fabrication process, and they're working with the contractors so it wouldn't happen again. by the way, milpitas means "little cornfield" and is part of the city's history. nbc bay area news. >> that is m-i-l-p-i-t-a-s. >>> and still ahead, a

caltrans is a problem was cover leisure in the fix was completed earlier this year. plates and bolts have been installed and a decorative cap 7 put on. bridge officials listen to buy back old one is to expand us. the entire pact will open 2015. >> bay area baseball and the bay bridge series moving from oakland to san francisco. oakland is having no problem with the giants at home or on the road. tommy milone winning his second straight decision and the athletics beat the giants again last night for this district land. the yoenis cespedes hit an rbi triple in the first six in his career best hitting streak to 11 games, jed lowrie added an rbi double as the day's most a season best eight games above 500. the guys did rally from a six-one deficit to make it one run game 7-6 in the eighth inning. hunter pants or for the second straight game and bread pill also connected for san francisco but the athletics won 9-6. there is a 111 of them as well, what designs of clause 5 of the last seven. the giants now leading the majors in paris this month. 24 errors in the month of ma

caltrans is trying to check out well over 2,000 other belts. kpix5 reporter spoke with steve of the metropolitan transportation commission. >> did we buy the wrong bolts for this type of structure? >> looking back from today and looking back with hindsight, i think looking at different sorts of fasteners might have made sense. >> another group assembled by analysts has been looking at reported concrete issues beneath the new tower. concerned there may be an institutional problem. one that leads to accepting and defending mistakes. >> we had issues on these big projects. these big projects is business. there's only a few corporations in the country that do these big projects and the experts work for those corporations or for caltrans. it's a struggle. >> caltrans spokesman told kcbs. >> we will continue to assist with external, independent reviews that the legislature deems appropriate. >> with fixes and inquiries, will the bridge be ready for labor day? >> it's to be determined. what they have to do to fix them to make sure it's safe. >> the pa

that move is in recognition of the fact public confidence has been shaken in caltrans. abc 7 news. >> another survivor of the limousine fire is now home from the hospital. she was discharged from santa clara valley medical center, another victim remains in fair condition. five women died in the fire saturday night. unable to escape the flames that erupted on the way to a wedding celebration. what have you found? >> abc 7 news obtained files on limo stop and have been pouring through hundreds of pages today this, is is what we found. the owner runs the company but does business as one san jose limo and oakland limo. the files show all have seating capacities of nine or less but web site has pictures of several larger limos and party buses. you'll recall the limo had nine passengers one more than this vehicle was allowed to carry. so this may be a violation. the files show p.u.c. had enforcement actions against limo stop. again in 2008 then two years ago. all had to do with limo stop failure to keep up with its liability insurance as well as failing to pay for worker' com

if you have any questions for caltran and the new bridge this is the chance. they are taking the media for a slow and tell and let us see the crews as they start the repair work and promising to give us an update on the bolts that are on the bridge being used. there are 2,000 of them that are similar to the 32 that snapped in march. caltran has a lot to prove, many are now doubting the agency. >> the events that led up to them saying use the bolts calls into question caltran's operation and how they analyze and look at things. >> the officials say they are still on track for a labor day weekend opening but you can get they will face a lot of questions from the media today. reporting live on treasure island for abc7 news. >> the secret to a long and healthy life? move to the top floor. a study from the university of switzerland finds people would live below the 8th floor of 22 percent more likely to die early. specifically, the chance of dying of lung cancer are 40 percent greater for people living on the ground floor compared to those above theth 8 crediting l

is caltrans doing all it can? >> a tragedy may be having the opposite affect. >> happening now, occupy demonstrators try to reoccupy an east bay field. abc 7 news is there live to see what happens. >> and new evidence in a government campaign to effect a marin county oyster farm only on abc 7 news. >> sky 7 hd video of the new bay bridge where interest there is developing news tonight. a safety review of the broken seismic safety roads. good evening. >> experts are working with caltrans and are going to want to know why bad bolts got use ntd bay bridge and how they can be repaired in a way that guarantees the bridge is safe. we're live with the story tonight. heather? >> well, dan, last week local and state transportation brass invited the faa to take a look at how caltrans is dealing within broken rods and plans to fix them, those broken rods are like a bunch more about 2000 in the critical tower base. so far, 32 bolts have broken and there is a plan for them. but there are about 2300 similar bolts elsewhere on t

caltrans is now revuling tests and doing additional testing. in 2004, caltrans up decided it's specifications, banning use of this type of bolt. yet they were installed four years later. still, caltrans says using them was acceptable. >> manuals for building anything but particularly bridges get updated annually. and if we stopped and changed material every time there is an update we'd still be designing this brichblgt not building it. >> review of the rods is the latest in a series of construction fumbles that would seem to threaten the opening. but that decision hasn't been made yet. >> yes and we had determined it's 100%. >> bart may says it's not just a contractor monitoring the work. there are third parties as well, caltrans should able to explain to taxpayers what happened. >> there have been thorough inspections on this. i think what agencies have to answer is, why was the bolts chosen? >> dan mcnicole is a kind of third party not an inl spector but a writer wrote a book about boston's big dig, he has a construction map of the $23 billio

caltrans is now revuling tests and doing additional testing.in 2004, caltrans up decided it's specifications, banning use of this type of bolt. yet they were installed four years later. still, caltrans says using them was acceptable. >> manuals for building anything but particularly bridges get updated annually. and if we stopped and changed material every time there is an update we'd still be designing this brichblgt not building it. >> review of the rods is the latest in a series of construction fumbles that would seem to threaten the opening. but that decision hasn't been made yet. >> yes and we had determined it's 100%. >> bart may says it's not just a contractor monitoring the work. there are third parties as well, caltrans should able to explain to taxpayers what happened. >> there have been thorough inspections on this. i think what agencies have to answer is, why was the bolts chosen? >> dan mcnicole is a kind of third party not an inl spector but a writer wrote a book about boston's big dig, he has a construction map of the $23 billion

governor brown has ordered an independent review of caltrans.s has been deflecting almost daily questions about the construction of the new eastern span of the bay bridge. the review will cost more than a quarter million dollars and take about 7 months but caltrans critics say it's worth it. >> the confidence in caltrans is something that's completely eroded at this point. we want to reestablish that. >> i think what came out of the presentation today is probably more questions than answers. >> caltrans workers continue to scramble to finish the $10 million fix for the broken bolts. the massive steel saddles under the bridge. and a decision has been delayed again about when the new bridge will open. >>> a package thief is caught on camera in santa clara. he pulled up to a house on his mountain bike and grabs a package right off the porch. surveillance video shows him stuffing the stolen goods in a duffel bag before riding away. call police if you recognize the man. >>> 6:36. a little check of traffic and weather. beach weekend? >> i know. >> goi

city of san jose, caltrans and union pacific railroad arw!n board to clean up 13th street train tressel and others in the south bay. beginning tomorrow agencies will shut down sections of highway 101, 13th street ramp to spray over graffiti. caltrans has begun notification to inform drivers of the exact closures. cleanup scheduledkjo through wednesday. agencies working together to make cleanup more efficient and share cleanup cost. >>> despite ankle injury warriors guard curry is set to hit the court today and fans are glad he did. >> lets bring in scott reese. scott, amazing game. >> no question. this has all the makings of a classic playoff series. they have played games, two have gone into overtime including today's at oracle. curry was on the floor and they needed him.  in the house, collin cappin kaepernick. he knows a good game. with 20 seconds, spurs had a chance with the ball. ginobli misses the shot. look at andrew, touching the ball, footoas÷ out-of-bounds. should be san francisco basketball but officials don't see it. we get an o

now caltrans have reviewed quality control tests and done additional testing. caltrans updated the design specifications or manual banning the use of this type of bolt. they were installed four years later. caltrans says using them was perfectly acceptable. >> manuals get updated often, sometimes they get updated annually. if we stopped and changed the material, every time there was an update there would still be designing the bridge. >> review of the rods is series that would seem to threaten the labor day weekend opening, but that decision hasn't been made yet. >> vehicles will not be put on the structure until we have determined it's hundred percent safe. >> a spokesman and bay bridge consultant says it's not just the contractor and caltrans monitoring the work. there are third party inspectors, as well. caltrans should be able to the taxpayers what happened. >> there has been thorough specks on this. what the agency has to answer why. >> he is not an inspector but a writer. he wrote a best-selling book about boston's big dig. this is mock june of the bay br

he wanted to know how it was that caltrans would use. one of the things we reported this stuff was banned by caltrans. they knew this galvanized steel was not used on the bridges. the rule in 2000 precluded the use. in 2002, they deviated their standard. the question who decided that is very much open. >> i understanding the checking of some of the rods is problematic because there is construction of road above them. what does this do for the opening date of the bridge? >> it is up in the air. they are talking about retrofitting the opening day party or the gatherings they planned. the preview dates and all that stuff. right now, we don't know if it will make that date. i think that they are hoping that they can replace the rods that are vulnerable over the long term and the rods that failed and create a giant steel straddle with cables in lieu of the bolts that failed. >> if they have it in that situation after they open the bridge, it's still much safer than the bridge i drive on now three times a week, right? >> that's what they say.

. >>> caltran's problems with the new bay bridge span appear to be getting worse. the failure of 32 rods back in march has led to an investigation of more than 2,000 of them. how that will affect the countdown to the bridge's scheduled opening is unclear. now just 121 days to go. we have more from abc7 news transportation reporter, heather ishimaru. >> the galvanized high-strength rods are produced in a way that makes them susceptible to breaking in a marine environment. of the more than 2300 installed on the self anchored suspension bridge, only 32 has broken. but caltran is reviewing quality control tests for all of them and doing additional testing. in 2004 caltran updated their bridge design specifications or manual banning the use of this type of bolt. yet they were installed four years later. caltran said using them was perfectly acceptable. >> manuals for building anything, particularly bridges, get updated often. some get updated annually. and if we had -- if we stopped and changed the material every time there was an update, we would still be designing thi

it's an interesting week at caltrans. >> an interesting meeting.e and bring you the latest. >>> coming up, this morning's top stories. the la the investigation. . >> and that includes the latest on the deadly limo fire on the san mateo bridge. we'll have the latest on that investigation in a minute. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, let's get an update now on r top story... five women are dead after they were trd ousine on . >>> welcome back. let's get an update on our top story. five women are dead after they were trapped inside a burning limousine on the san mateo bridge. >> kpix5 reporter alyssa harrington is joining us live now from near the spam. >> reporter: a group of women was inside when it burst into flames last night at 10:00. this is a picture a viewer sent to the kpix newsroom. it shows the white lincoln stretch limo with flames shooting off of the rear. there were 10 people in the limousine total, including the driver. nine women were in the back and only four of them were able to escape and the other five were trapped inside and killed as the flames cl

. >>> caltran's problems with the new bay bridge appear to be getting worse. the failure of 32 rods back in march has led to an investigation of more than 2,000 of them. how that will affect the countdown to the bridge's scheduled opening sun clear. now down to just 121 days away. more from abc7 news transportation reporter heather ishimaru. >> the galvanized high strength rod are produced in a way that makes them susceptible to breaking in a marine environment. of the more than 123 installed, only 32 have broken, but caltran is now reviewing quality control tests for all of them and doing additional testing. in 2004 caltran updated its bridge design specifications or manual banning the use of this type of bolt. yet they were installed four years later. still caltran said using them was perfectly acceptable. >> manuals for building anything, but particularly bridges, get updated often. some get updated annually. if we stopped and changed the material every time there was an update, we would still be designing this bridge, not building it. >> the review of the

caltran will release their findings at a news conference later this morning in oakland. will have the very latest for you on abc7 news at 11 a.m. >> in oakland, police are investigating a fatal shooting where 20 to 30 rounds were fired just before 9:00 last night near 50th avenue with the victim driven to a local hospital and he was pronounced dead. crimestoppers is offering a $15,000 reward leading to arrest of a gunman. a local fire station hit by bullets and firefighters at engine company 18 tweeted these pictures less than an hour after the shooting and you can see the bullet hole in the front window of the roll door of the fire station. police have not said if the bullets are related to the be by fatal shooting. >> a peninsula legislature will introduce a bill to make limousines safer after the deadly fire. the limousine that burst in flames on the san mateo bridge carried thine passengers, one more than allowed to carry. limousines with fewer than 8 people are not required to have fire extinguishers and san mateo state senator hill wants to change that. >> we are g

caltrans demonstrated those tests today at its sacramento laboratory. they are trying to see how they stand up under pressure. >> this information will help us determine whether or not the 2010 rods are fine and can stay in place or whether or not they need to be removed and replaced with a batch of new rods. >> one of the tests involves submerging bolts in a salt water solution to mimic the conditions they will face on the bridge over time. so far, engineers say all the bolts manufactured in 2010 have met expectations. it will take several weeks to finish these tests. >>> we are continuing to follow our breaking news out of the san francisco bay where one sailor has died after the sailboat he was on capsized. live pictures now from our nbc helicopter of this boat being towed into alameda. we are awaiting a live news conference in just a matter of minutes in regards to some details on how perhaps this boat capsized. 36-year-old andrew simpson, a silver medalist from the olympics, was the sail they're died this afternoon. >>> also, no one is immune to ty

. >> caltrans settled on a plan for dealing with 32 broken bolts on the bay bridge. today 116 days to go we got a look inside of the lab where testing is being done. we're live with the story on treasure island. heather? >> this is one lab and so far data is encouraging. no more bolts will crack like those 32 did in march. >> this is a single piece and tests conducted on other portions of it. >> what started out as a run has been sliced and diced down to smaller pieces in this lab. these from a batch of new rods in 2010. eight have been brought here because similar rods failed with tensioned. now they want to make sure they aren't prone to the same problem. caltrans didn't know it was a threat at the time. >> now we know it's hydrogen embritelment. you know? we have a little bit of evidence where that gives a little bit more information to work with. >> the lab gathering data on how hard this deal is. this measures how metal withstands forceful impact. >> it's 24,000 pounds now. >> this measures strength at a rate of half an inch per minute. >> wow. >> data collected

neither caltran nor the city of oefk land owed anywhere close to what the records showed. >> at first was shocking. >> until caltran's officials contacted the mtc and learned they owed nowhere near $4 million in back tolls. >> it was actually $118,000 that we owed in back tolls. >> why the massive discrepancy? the mtc blames the new monthly bill processing system implemented for caltran, but we also found instances where the mtc mistakenly billed caltrans vehicles that should have been exempt from paying tolls, and some agencies told us the mtc never even sent them invoices about their fines. in the case of the city of oakland, the mtc was forced to cancel more than $4,000 in fines wrongly levelled against police and fire vehicles, which legally do not pay tolls when their lights and sirens are on. mtc admitted to us that their violation processing system is backlogged, and this were software glitches that have since been fixed. they say our investigation revealed, quote, how things fell through the cracks in an enormous way leaving some agencies and cities scrambling to clear a host

. >> new revelations why caltrans decided to use, on tuesday, caltrans released documents showing the steel suppliers persuaded the project engineers to use the risky galvanized rods on the bay bridge. dies onargued the rod was successfully installed part of a richmond bridge retro fit. the mayor and commissioner is calling that decision into question. >> the chain of events led up to the fact said to go ahead, use the bolts calls into question caltrans operation and the way they analyzed this and looked at this. casts a cloud over caltrans. >> the rods for the richmond bridge tightened at far lower tension levels than the new eastern span. dozens of bolts snapped when tensions on the eastern span in 2008. >> san francisco city supervisors considering a proposal to add a fee to tickets for sporting and entertainment events. the charge would be added to the regular price and would be between 1s skpdz $3 and apply to gints games, events at the proposed water front arena as well as large festivals. supervisors say the revenue from the fee would go towards maintaining the muni system. >>

. >> caltrans considers what to do about potentially thousands of faulty bolts on the new span of the bay bridge, some experts are voicing their opinions and concerns. >> john fisher is a professor of civil engineering and one of tree experts on caltrans independent peer review panel. not a part profit ses, he testified last week on the broken rod. now, he's told the chronicle he thinks the choice of the steel rods was in the well thought through and i would have urged them to take another course. now, he thinks all rods should be replaced. caltrans says it's doing testing to make that termination. >> we're doing short term tests and there is a corrosion test. take a bolt imersed in salt water. that can take several weeks. we need to have more information or f.they can be left in place. >> 32 of a set of rods broke. now a retro fit plan underway for those with testing plans. uc berkeley materials engineer thinks neither is going far enough and 32 broken bolts need to be. >> top sid. what i am recommending isn't engineering 101. it's kmn sense. you don't try to solve a problem unless y

caltran is briefing partners on the project right now. abc7 news reporter cornell bernard joins us from treasure island. cornell? >> when it comes to ideas on how to fix the bay bridge, it look like we have a winner, but fixing the broken bolts on the span will not be cheap and caltran will try but this morning they say they cannot commit to opening on labor day. caltran's announcement moments ago they have chosen a steel saddle system to reinforce 3 dozen bolts that snapped this year after being installed on the new span. the cost of the fix? between $5 million and $10 million. it could take months to complete. as far as opening the bridge on schedule... >> open by labor day? >> that is an outstanding question. there will be a very close race either way. >> caltran will work with the contractor to firm up an opening date but ultimately we are told the governor will have the final say on when the new span opens. there is money available in the budget for the bridge for cost overruns like this one but it is a big setback and we are told th

is caltrans doing all it can?edy may be having the opposite affect. >> happening now, occupy demonstrators try to reoccupy an east bay field. abc 7 news is there live to see what happens. >> and new evidence in a government campaign to effect a marin county oyster farm only on abc 7 news. >> sky 7 hd video of the new bay bridge where interest there is developing news tonight. a safety review of the broken seismic safety roads. good evening. >> experts are working with caltrans and are going to want to know why bad bolts got use ntd bay bridge and how they can be repaired in a way that guarantees the bridge is safe. we're live with the story tonight. heather? >> well, dan, last week local and state transportation brass invited the faa to take a look at how caltrans is dealing within broken rods and plans to fix them, those broken rods are like a bunch more about 2000 in the critical tower base. so far, 32 bolts have broken and there is a plan for them. but there are about 2300 similar bolts elsewhere on the bridge,

but we're also looking at this stack of caltrans documents. we spent a lot of time going through these. they give us a look at the discussions that happened ten years ago. the question is, do anything have been done to avoid where we are now. there are almost 150 pages. engineers have said hydrogen embrittlement is to blame. that was on the radar back in 2003. these documents obtained the discussions and concerns of that time. in a memo from 2003, they talked about using a specific type of coding on the code because they said that hydrogen embrittlement should not be a concern. but the following month, the issue came up again. in the minutes of a march 27th meeting, caltrans expressed concern saying -- it doesn't stop there. a month later, officials looked to the richmond bridge for guidance. it uses the same type of bolts so officials were asked about hydrogen embrittlement. embrittlement so the question that needs to be answered right now is did the process fail or did caltrans fail to follow the process? that's gonna take a while because to

at the time caltrans determined there was no problem. however the b claims caltrans miscalculated the extent of the corrosion. several experts are questioning the durability of the span, especially in the event of a major earthquake. the news does not sit well with bay area drivers. >> to be honest, when it's finished, i'll probably avoid it. let a couple thousand people get a test run. i don't feel good about it at all. >> caltrans maintains the bridge is safe and is reacting to latest concerns telling the paper, quote, corrosion has been an issue since the first steel bridge has built. what we learned from this particular challenge six years ago is we are never÷f÷ going to done fighting the battle against corrosion in san francisco bay. >>> now a preview of an investigative unit exclusive. the bay area, no secret, loves its dogs. some pet owners and pet lovers taking that to extremes to take their dogs everywhere they do. right here in california only service animals are allowed in food facilities like restaurants and grocery stores. t

is not just like the bolt that broke and every bolt is not septemberable in the same way. >> but caltrans itself is under as much scrutiny as the bolt. >> i am very vocal about my belief that there's a culture in caltrans that is not transparent and is not responsive enough to the people they work for. >> the committee doesn't take any action on what they heard today. this hearing was for information, but as you heard the state senator say, he is hoping the answers are truthful. in sacramento, kpix5. >> in about two hours, crews will begin removing the last remnant of the doyle drive approach. drivers can expect overnight road closures monday through saturday for the next three weeks. >>> the america's cup is a go. that is the word tonight from race officials. there was question as to whether that race would go on after thursday's deadly training accident. today we got word that all four teams will be competing, including racing, investigators are still trying to determine exactly what caused the cat ma maran to capsize. >>> new recommendations could mean the difference between having tha