FACTS
AT A GLANCE
LOCATION: Interstate
580 running east-west between Contra Costa and
Marin counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
STRUCTURE: Cantilever
and truss
LENGTH: 5.5
miles (including approaches)
VERTICAL
CLEARANCE: 185 feet
CHANNEL
SPAN: 1,070 feet
TOWER
HEIGHT: 325 feet
OPENED: September
1956
COST: $66
million
AUTO
TOLL: $4
COLLECTION: One
way, westbound in Richmond
TRAFFIC
LANES: Two lanes in each direction
FY
2007-08 TOTAL TOLL-PAID VEHICLES: 11,782,281
FY
2007-08 TOTAL BASE TOLLS COLLECTED: $14,051,055
|
Somewhat
out of the mainstream of Bay Area traffic flows,
the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge does not garner the
attention of its busier and more prominent cousins
to the south, but for nearly 50 years it has quietly
and efficiently served the needs of North Bay travelers.
Access
to the bridge was significantly improved with the
completion in 2001 of the Richmond Parkway, a 7.5-mile,
four- to six-lane roadway that provides bridge
users with a direct connection to Interstate 80
near Pinole.
"This sturdy and serviceable cantilever and truss
span has been rather unkindly likened to a bent coat
hanger. For most of the 60,000 commuters who daily
use this bridge the crossing is probably a purely
utilitarian means to travel between Contra Costa
and Marin Counties. But for anyone lucky enough to
be heading west on vacation it provides an exciting
approach to the splendors of Marin County, the Pacific
Coast, and the Redwood Empire in the north.
On
completion in 1956, this 5.5-mile bridge was one
of the world's longest. Construction was financed
by the sale of $62 million in revenue bonds, topped
by a loan of $4.68 million from the State School
Land Fund. Nevertheless, the bridge was finished
$4 million under budget " Bridging
the Bay © 1999 UC
Berkeley Library
|
