San Francisco, Guards

This is another famous bridge in Bay Area, The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (known locally as the Bay Bridge). It is mostly known for its heavy traffic everyday, it carries approximately 270,000 vehicles per day on its two decks. Designed by Charles H. Purcell,and built by American Bridge Company, it opened for traffic on November 12, 1936, six months before the Golden Gate Bridge. It originally carried automobile traffic on its upper deck, and trucks and trains on the lower, but after the closure of the Key System, the lower deck was converted to road traffic as well.

After being temporarily closed on October 27, 2009 due to failure of the recently repaired eastern span, the Bay Bridge reopened on November 2. Due to earthquake concerns the eastern crossing is being replaced by an entirely new crossing, to be finished in late 2013.

Design: Double-decked Suspension, Cantilever Bridge, Truss causeway and Tunnel

Material : Steel, concrete

Total length : 4.46 miles (7.18 km) excluding approaches

Width : 5 traffic lanes totaling 57.5 feet (17.5 m)

Opened : November 12, 1936

Toll : Cars (east span, westbound only)

$6.00 (rush hours)

$2.50 (carpool rush hours)

$4.00 (weekday non-rush hours)

$5.00 (weekend all day)