San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

USA / California / Emeryville /
 road bridge, toll bridge, suspension bridge

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (37°49′5″N, 122°20′48″W; known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a toll bridge which spans San Francisco Bay and links the California cities of Oakland and San Francisco in the United States, as part of Interstate 80. It is one of the busiest bridges in the United States, carrying approximately 280,000 vehicles per day.

The original bridge designs were by Ralph Modjeski. The Bay Bridge opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before San Francisco's other famous bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge.

The bridge consists of two major spans connecting each shore with Yerba Buena Island, a natural outcropping located mid-bay. The western crossing, from San Francisco to the island, consists of two suspension bridges end-to-end with a central anchorage plus three shorter truss spans connecting the San Francisco landing to the western cable anchorage located on Rincon Hill. The eastern span between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland consists of a double-tower cantilever span, five medium-span truss bridges, and a 14 section truss causeway. These east bay structures are scheduled to be replaced by an entirely new crossing now under construction. On Yerba Buena Island itself, the crossing consists of a short concrete viaduct at the west span's cable anchorage, a tunnel through the island's rocky central hill, another short concrete viaduct, and a longer high-level steel truss viaduct which leads to the eastern span. There are six exit/entry ramps on the island allowing I-80 traffic to access the facilities located there and on the adjoining man-made Treasure Island.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   37°48'20"N   122°21'0"W

Comments

  • JUST A SECTION COLLAPSED IN 1989 NOT ALL OF IT
  • There was an earthquake safe deck that Caltrans built
This article was last modified 7 years ago