So the GGB would be substantially damaged in an 8.0 quake, but the Bay Bridge is designed to survive and be immediately accessible to emergency vehicles in an 8.5 quake.<p>Those seem like relatively minor differences, but (assuming the new span actually performs like designed) the Bay Bridge should easily survive an earthquake that is 3.1x larger and releases over 5x more energy than one that will &quot;extensively damage&quot; the Golden Gate Bridge.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;07u65bj.png" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.imgur.com&#x2F;07u65bj.png</a>