You've been handed the keys to the bridge.
Somebody noticed how closely you watch this crossing. We'd like your help keeping the answer honest.
One question. One honest answer.
Can I cross the bridge right now? It's the only way east or west through this stretch of the Delta, so the answer decides the shape of a lot of evenings.
over one span
you get it wrong
climbs to let a boat by
It goes up without telling anyone.
A sailboat comes through. A tug pushing a barge. The gates drop, the span climbs, and no agency publishes a thing. Fifteen minutes later it's over, and every map still says the road is clear.
The span opens on demand, whenever a boat calls for it.
Five signals, all night, every night.
closures
incidents
video feed
traffic
reports
and nothing said so
None of them can confirm a lift on its own.
When the signals disagree, we need you to make the call.
Most of the time the sources agree and the site publishes on its own. When they conflict — drivers reporting a lift, the camera showing something else, nothing official posted — a person has to look at what came in and publish the status. That is the part we need you for.
That's the job. About a minute.
Sign up, learn it, use it when you want.
We walk you through the desk once so you know what you are looking at. After that it is open to you — publish when you see something you are sure of, and leave it alone when you are busy. There is no schedule and no minimum.
It's one person. That's the whole reason I need you.
I grew up in Lodi and I live in Suisun, so this bridge sits right in the middle of my drive. I've been just as stuck as everyone else, watching Facebook to work out whether the span was up.
So I built this. I love this part of the Delta and I like making useful things, and it turned into the way I've been learning to build for the web. Nobody is making money from it, and nobody is going to.
The catch is that I can't watch the bridge every hour, and I'm still working out the technology as I go. That's honestly all this is. I need a few people who care about this place as much as I do.
Your name on the call.
Every status you publish carries your username, so anyone reading it can see who checked.
And when the stickers and shirts exist, they go to this crew first, out of my own pocket, as a thank you. No promises on timing. Only that you're first in line.