SFGATE reports, 600 tons of steel salvaged during the demolition of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s original east span was set aside for the creation of public art around the state. Artists selected by an Oakland museum have turned the reclaimed material, stripped of its lead paint, into sculptures, park benches, a decorative gate, a major league baseball trophy, and even a train platform.
The salvage initiative was approved by the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission body that ceased operation in 2018 after completing its oversight of Bay Area bridge seismic retrofit projects. The first Bay Bridge east span was replaced in 2013 due to damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.