When
people go to San Francisco they know that
they are going to be near The Golden Gate
Bridge, but they may not know that there
is another fantastic suspension bridge
close by… The Oakland Bay Bridge.
This bridge consists of two major segments
with an island (Yerba Island) in the center.
The segment of the bridge that goes from
the island to the city of San Francisco
is actually made up of two suspension
bridges end-to-end with a central anchorage
point.
Construction on the bridge began in July
1933 and took until November 1936, with
a final cost of $79.5 million. It was
decided that the island would be incorporated
into the design of the bridge so that
it would make the bridge easier to build
and save on materials. The road and bridgeworks
would have to pass though the island instead
of over it, so a tunnel had to be constructed;
this portion was later called Yerba Tunnel.
The bay was up to 100 feet deep in places
and the soil required new foundation-laying
techniques.
The
bridge holds a very busy highway, carrying
an average of 280,000 vehicles a day.
The bridge itself is “double decked”,
which means it has two levels of transport
surfaces one over another. Many parts
of the bridge have been replaced over
the years, as normal wear and tear on
a building this size could cause problems.
In fact during the 1989 earthquake a section
of the east span of the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge collapsed; it was replaced
but it caused a lot of questions to be
raised about the bridges design.
Today the Oakland Bay bridge gives and
excellent view of the picturesque city
of San Francisco as well as giving people
in the local area a quick way to get to
the city without having to go the long
way around the peninsula. From a distance
or up close the bridge is an awesome sight
and driving over it is not a pleasure
to be missed.
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