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June 17th, 2010 at 11:41 am

National Geographic: World’s Toughest Fixes: San Francisco Bay Bridge (Video, Photos)

Here are National Geographic: World’s Toughest Fixes: San Francisco Bay Bridge video and photos. It is the latest new episode of Season 3 of the popular series and will premie on Thurs. June 17, 2010 at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NatGeo Channel.

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Hosted by professional rigger Sean Riley (picture above) the series, also known as WTF, documents some of the challenging assignments he takes on all over the world, as he works with mechanics and engineers in a variety of industries.

This week’s episode, Riley is in San Francisco where his assignment is The Bay Bridge. It joins Oakland and San Francisco and in 2009 it made headlines when it was shut down for a major renovation. In order to make this particular fix on the iconic bridge, Riley joins the engineering team who are tasked with cutting a football field-sized section of roadway from the bridge and replacing it in a mere 72 hours. As the world watches, the team encounters unexpected challenges. A crack puts the operation on hold and requires custom-made colossal steel brackets. Time is running out and the team must get this vital Bay Area transportation link up and running in time for the morning commute in order to avoid gridlock.

Click here for an overview and more pictures from National Geographic: World’s Toughest Fixes: San Francisco Bay Bridge.

The program host, Sean Riley, is a designer and sculptor and the founder and principal rigging designer of the San Francisco-based company Gravity Design Inc. which delivers the kind of innovative rigging seen in throughout the WTF series, solving complex problems and providing services for clients in a number of industries all over the world.

Top Photo: The Bay Bridge, San Francisco, CA, USA: Sean Riley stands on the hills of San Francisco as traffic passes through on the Golden Gate Bridge.
(Photo Credit © NGT)

See preview video below.

Video: While an engineering crew fixes the Bay Bridge, Riley helps out the gang that clears the waterways of debris for bay area ferries. Link

Video. Riley joins an engineering crew tasked with cutting a football-sized section of roadway from the Bay Bridge. Link

Photos and video courtesy of National Geographic Channel