The new bridge in San Francisco will be supplied by China, Americans do not like it.

San Francisco/New York - The planned new bridge over the San Francisco Bay is provoking emotions. Key parts of this unique structure, which will be the largest cable-stayed bridge in the world, will be supplied by a Chinese steel mill. Americans will mainly carry out assembly work. Some are unhappy about this, stating that the contractors should have been from the USA, especially given the high unemployment in the country. However, the Chinese competition was significantly cheaper.
    According to NPR radio, the Chinese will supply massive cables, the main parts of the tower from which the bridge will be suspended, and the deck. They won the contract five years ago when the construction contractor offered the California Department of Transportation two options.
    "One involved domestic suppliers, the other international. There was a difference of 400 million dollars between them. In such a case, we had to choose the international route," noted Tony Anziano from the department. California managed to avoid the legal requirement to use American steel by not utilizing federal money for the total construction cost of seven billion dollars.
    The contract was awarded to the state-owned company Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, which, according to NPR, has several advantages. It has a modern factory, ships for transporting steel parts, and cheap labor. Workers there earn about 12 dollars a day. According to Bob LaVentura from the American steelworkers' union, workers in the United States cannot compete with that. He criticized the contract. "It's not good and it's not good for America," he said.
    However, Anziano stated that the choice of the Chinese company was not made solely because of low labor costs. American steel producers supposedly do not have the capacity for a project like the bridge over the bay. Furthermore, the production in China is overseen by 200 Americans. California sent them there after American unions and industry associations criticized the quality of Chinese steel.
    California Assembly member Luis Alejo still criticizes the contract. Acquiring the bridge overseas, according to him, has caused California greater damage than the savings it brings. "When such a large project is built here in California, it has a multiplier effect. It provides jobs for thousands of families, whose paychecks then go into our economy. And now all that money has permanently disappeared from California," he pointed out.
    Unemployment in the state is around 12 percent, which is three percentage points higher than the national average. However, when the decision on the contract was made, the unemployment rate was only about five percent.
    The new bridge in the eastern part of the bay is expected to be completed in 2013. It should be more resilient than the original bridge, which was damaged by an earthquake in 1989. Unlike most cable-stayed bridges that are supported by two towers, it will be suspended from a single tower.