California bridges threatened

A freighter ship sails under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. California Governor Gray Davis warned that "credible threats" had been made against landmark suspension bridges in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. PHOTO: AFP

Authorities in California beefed up security Thursday around four of the state's bridges after Governor Gray Davis announced a "credible threat" had been made against suspension bridges on the US west coast.

"We received information from three separate federal agencies indicating that there was a potential terrorist attack against suspension bridges on the west coast," Davis told CNN's Larry King Live late Thursday.

Security at the four bridges -- the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges in San Francisco, the Coronado Bridge in San Diego and the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles -- was stepped up, with Davis authorizing additional US National Guard personnel to patrol the bridges.

"We believe there's a credible threat that there will be an effort made between Nov. 2 to Nov. 7 to destroy one of those bridges," Davis said earlier in a Los Angeles press conference.

The governor said the bridges were already being watched by the state's highway patrol, the National Guard and the US Coast Guard.

California Highway Patrol Commissioner Dwight "Spike" Helmick told a press conference that the threats had been "non-specific", but Davis vehemently defended his decision to inform the public of the potential threat because it was "so immediate and so specific".

"If I didn't make that statement and, God forbid, something happened, I would be kicking myself," Davis said on CNN.

"We are bound and determined to protect Californians and the vital assets of this state," Davis said earlier.

The governor said he had spoken to US Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, who supported his decision to tell the people of California about the threats.

"You have to do everything you can to protect people," Davis said, vowing that the bridges were safe and, in fact, "could not possibly be safer than they are today".

Helmick said none of the bridges would be closed, and that the National Guard might be stationed at each end of the four bridges for extra security.

"All safety precautions are in place," Helmick said. "I'm going to drive over them tomorrow."

Helmick said some suitcases had been found near the Golden Gate Bridge, but did not contain anything suspicious.

Authorities at San Francisco's Bay Bridge, which links San Francisco to Oakland, California, were surprised by the governor's warning, but insisted that security was tight.

"It was as much news to us as it was to you," said Greg Bayol, a spokesman for the span, a two-part 13km bridge that reaches over the eastern section of the San Francisco Bay. Some 240,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

"We were already on heightened alert, so we are just going to continue to be vigilant," added Bayol.

Mary Currie, a spokeswoman with the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, which governs operation of the bridge, said the governor's warnings were not unexpected.

"We have received alerts of some kind ever since Sept. 11," said Currie. "We've been on the highest alert there can be, and we will continue to maintain that status."

The picturesque 1.7-mile rust red bridge, a symbol of San Francisco and California, spans the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Some 116,000 cars cross the usually fog-shrouded bridge daily.

"We would be considered a landmark target," said Currie.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic was barred from the bridge for several weeks after the attack, but has since resumed. Currie said walkers and bicyclists will be allowed to continue using the span.

San Francisco city council president Tom Ammiano urged people to use the bridges as they normally would, adding that he himself intended to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday.

"Apparently the commute on both bridges was as horrible as it always is," he said of the traffic, calling it a "testament to people going about things as normal."

City Police Chief Fred Lau assured residents that the "highways, waterways and airways" of San Francisco were being protected.

"We are taking precautionary measures," he said.

Los Angeles Police Officer Jason Lee said the Vincent Thomas bridge, which sits on the mouth of Los Angeles harbor, has been on the "highest alert" since the attacks.