1:35 PM: The California Department of Transportation used a crane mounted on a barge this morning to retrieve a piece of excavation equipment that got stuck in mud in the Bay, a spokesman said.
The excavator became stuck Friday night, Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said.
“It was removing a temporary trestle we had in place,” he said.
“Everything we put into the Bay we have to pull out.”
Coast Guard Lt. Andrew Kennedy said Caltrans alerted his office on Saturday that the equipment had gotten stuck in the water.
“The tide had come in, which made it impossible for them to remove this piece of gear on their own,” Kennedy said.
Caltrans decided to use a crane mounted on a barge to remove the excavator, Ney said. “But we had to wait for the right tide to be able to do that.”
Meanwhile, the agency drained the excavator of its oil and surrounded the machinery with boom as a precaution, Ney said. Caltrans also invited other regulatory agencies to view the stranded equipment to make sure nothing was amiss.
Kennedy said there is no indication that a spill occurred.
7:51 AM: Efforts were under way this morning to remove a piece of construction equipment from the water near the Bay Bridge retrofit project, a Coast Guard lieutenant said.
Lt. Andrew Kennedy said the Coast Guard was told by Caltrans on Saturday that the piece of equipment had become stuck in the water.
“The tide had come in, which made it impossible for them to remove this piece of gear on their own,” Kennedy said.
He did not know what kind of equipment was involved.
Kennedy said boom was placed around it as a preventive measure.
Caltrans then removed hydraulic fluid from the equipment to prevent a spill, he said.
He said there is no indication that a spill occurred.
Caltrans officials were not immediately available this morning to provide additional details.
