135-491: 19 girder spans (west) 14 truss spans (west) 3 spans (western cantilever) 9 truss spans (center) 3 spans (eastern cantilever) 12 truss spans (east) 67,800 (2012) 72,300 (2013) 75,600 (2014) The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge (officially renamed the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge in 1981) is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of California's San Francisco Bay , carrying Interstate 580 from Richmond on
270-743: A lift span in the proposed Sausalito–Belvedere bridge was changed to a bascule after public comments were received from a local shipbuilder. Tomasini received a permit for the Sausalito–Belvedere bridge from the War Department in December 1928. Tomasini had planned to commence construction of the Sausalito–Belvedere bridge in July 1930, but he was met with opposition from the Tiburon-Belvedere Chamber of Commerce, who felt
405-537: A "thank you party" from Solano Avenue business owners to customers. The Library of Congress designated the Solano Stroll as a "National Local Legacy" in 2001. Albany has both the locale and the title for one of the best-known poems in language poetry , by former long-time Albany resident, poet Ron Silliman . Albany is home to Golden Gate Fields , the only commercial racetrack in the Bay Area, as well as
540-772: A 1,200-foot (370 m) main span. Charles Derleth, Jr. was selected as the consulting engineer, after having served in that role for the recently completed Carquinez Bridge . The Long bridge would have spanned San Pablo Bay between Point Orient (in Contra Costa County ) to just below McNear's Point (in Marin County ), and Long was granted the franchise in February 1928 by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. A competing proposed bridge also came out in 1927, from Charles Van Damme of
675-543: A central rail line from San Pedro Hill (Marin) to San Pablo station (Contra Costa), a distance of over 5 miles (8.0 km). In 1928, Tomasini presented a revised proposal for a bridge farther south than the other two bridges—spanning the water from Albany (in Alameda County ) to Tiburon . The 1928 Tomasini Albany–Tiburon bridge was the longest of the three proposed bridges by a significant margin. The proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge would have been similar in concept to
810-472: A concrete structure in the 1950s. Tomasini continued to add to the project scope in July 1928 by proposing a bridge and tunnel to join San Francisco to the proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge. The tunnel would run roughly northeast from Bay Street and Grant Avenue, not far from present-day Pier 39 , at a depth of 50 feet (15 m) below low tide water level for 11,200 feet (3,400 m). At that point,
945-399: A franchise to construct and operate a private toll bridge. The proposed 1927 Long bridge would have been a steel suspension bridge, carrying a 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) roadway for a distance of 14,600 feet (4,500 m) at an estimated construction cost of US$ 12,000,000 (equivalent to $ 210,500,000 in 2023). The bridge would afford a maximum vertical clearance of 135 feet (41 m) with
1080-1022: A hotspot for polybrominated diphenyl ether ( PBDE ) flame retardants used to make upholstered furniture and infant care items less flammable. PBDEs have been largely phased out and replaced with alternative phosphate flame retardants. A 2019 San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) study assayed a wide range of these newer flame retardant chemicals in Bay waters, bivalve California mussels ( Mytilus californianus ), and harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) which haul out in Corkscrew Slough on Bair Island in San Mateo County , with phosphate flame retardant contaminants such as tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) found at levels comparable to thresholds for aquatic toxicity. Thousands of man-made chemicals are found in Bay water, sediment, and organisms. For many of these, there
1215-757: A housing unit of the University of California Berkeley , is located in Albany. The 2010 United States Census reported that Albany had a population of 18,539. As of 2012 , Albany had a population of 18,969. The population density was 3,392.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,309.7/km ). The racial makeup of Albany was 10,128 (54.6%) White , 645 (3.5%) African American , 88 (0.5%) Native American , 5,790 (31.2%) Asian , 37 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 607 (3.3%) from other races , and 1,244 (6.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,891 persons (10.2%). The Census reported that 18,454 people (99.5% of
1350-461: A lift span to allow the passage of large vessels, at an estimated cost of US$ 750,000 (equivalent to $ 13,300,000 in 2023). Meanwhile, in April 1928 Tomasini recruited the prominent Ralph Modjeski to serve as the consulting head engineer for the proposed Albany–Tiburon span, and Modjeski promptly complimented the plans that had been drawn up by Tomasini's chief engineer, Erle L. Cope. The design for
1485-667: A major seaport . The Port of Oakland is one of the largest cargo ports in the United States, while the Port of Richmond and the Port of San Francisco provide smaller services. An additional crossing south of the Bay Bridge has long been proposed. San Francisco Bay is popular for sailors (boats, as well as windsurfing and kitesurfing ), due to consistent strong westerly/northwesterly thermally-generated winds – Beaufort force 6 (15–25 knots; 17–29 mph; 8–13 m/s)
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#17327805222641620-846: A political party. In 1966, Albany was home to a John Birch Society bookstore known as the American Opinion Library. On July 30, 1968, the John Birch society Truth About Civil Turmoil committee hosted an event at the Albany Veterans Memorial Building which included a speech by a former klansman , Delmar Dennis. On March 26, 2024, the Albany City Council passed a resolution supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. According to Albany's 2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,
1755-608: A safe eating advisory for fish caught in the San Francisco Bay based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail is a planned system of designated trailheads designed to improve non-motorized small boat access to the bay. The California Coastal Conservancy approved funding in March 2011 to begin implementation of the water trail. Albany, California Albany ( / ˈ ɑː l b ə n i / AWL -bə-nee )
1890-564: A single family home and condo in Census 2000, June 2007, November 2009, July 2011, August 2013 and August 2014 were $ 334,800, $ 687,500, $ 610,000, $ 590,000, $ 625,750 and $ 820,050 respectively. According to the California Secretary of State , as of February 10, 2019, Albany has 11,344 registered voters. Of those, 7,489 (66%) are registered Democrats , 512 (4.5%) are registered Republicans , and 2,917 (25.7%) have declined to state
2025-488: A single lane in each direction at night. Thus, one trestle was completely closed, and the other trestle had two-way traffic. The concrete segments of the trestle were precast in Petaluma and barged to the site. At monthly intervals, tugs positioned barges with one or two 100-foot-long (30 m), 500-ton pre-cast concrete roadway segments, which a 900-ton barge-mounted crane lifted into place. Earlier, either two or four of
2160-418: A single-deck bridge. The remaining US$ 10,000,000 (equivalent to $ 113,900,000 in 2023) was reserved for construction contingencies and to complete the lower deck of the bridge. The $ 62 million raised from bond sales was divided into three parts: US$ 50,000,000 (equivalent to $ 569,400,000 in 2023) for construction, US$ 10,000,000 (equivalent to $ 113,900,000 in 2023) to address interest obligations on
2295-525: A small area near the base of the Berkeley Hills . Albany's waterfront has undergone significant man-made changes; the most prominent landform is now the Albany Bulb , a former garbage landfill jutting out into San Francisco Bay. The bulb was the site of a small art colony and shanty town until it was cleared to turn the area into part of the new Eastshore State Park . University Village ,
2430-433: A third lane that is activated during evening commute hours and serves as a shoulder when not in use. The extra lane features lights indicating that the lane is open or closed. The third lane has been used for various purposes other than traffic, such as carrying a water pipeline during a drought. The bridge stands on 79 reinforced concrete piers supported on steel H-piles. Nine piers stand on land, eight are in cofferdams near
2565-560: A widespread distribution in the bay, with uptake in the bay's phytoplankton and contamination of its sportfish. In January 1971, two Standard Oil tankers collided in the bay, creating an 800,000-U.S.-gallon (3,000,000-liter) oil spill disaster , which spurred environmental protection of the bay. In November 2007, a ship named COSCO Busan collided with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and spilled over 58,000 U.S. gallons (220,000 liters) of bunker fuel , creating
2700-477: Is $ 7. During peak traffic hours, carpool vehicles carrying three or more people, clean air vehicles, or motorcycles may pay a discounted toll of $ 3.50 if they have FasTrak and use the designated carpool lane. Drivers must pay within 48 hours after crossing the bridge or they will be sent a toll violation invoice. No additional fees will be added to the toll violation if it is paid within 21 days. The following initial toll rates were adopted on July 10, 1956, prior to
2835-446: Is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northwestern Alameda County, California , United States. The population was 20,271 at the 2020 census . In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community. Armed with two shotguns and a twenty-two-caliber rifle, they confronted the drivers of the wagons near what is now the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street. The women told
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#17327805222642970-609: Is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California , and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area . It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco , San Jose , and Oakland . San Francisco Bay drains water from approximately 40 percent of California. Water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and from the Sierra Nevada mountains, flow into Suisun Bay , which then travels through
3105-469: Is an area of sand dunes now covered by the ocean. The indigenous inhabitants of the San Francisco Bay are Ohlone . The first European to see San Francisco Bay is likely N. de Morena who was left at New Albion at Drakes Bay in Marin County, California , by Sir Francis Drake in 1579 and then walked to Mexico. The first recorded European discovery of San Francisco Bay was on November 4, 1769, when Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá , unable to find
3240-489: Is common on summer afternoons – and protection from large open ocean swells. Yachting and yacht racing are popular pastimes and the San Francisco Bay Area is home to many of the world's top sailors. A shoreline bicycle and pedestrian trail known as the San Francisco Bay Trail encircles the edge of the bay. The San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail , a growing network of launching and landing sites around
3375-445: Is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km ) (67.28%) is water. The principal shopping street in Albany is Solano Avenue , which cuts across the city from west to east. Another important street is San Pablo Avenue , which travels from north to south. Albany is located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay , bordering the city of Berkeley to the south and east, and the Contra Costa County cities of El Cerrito and Richmond to
3510-433: Is little or no data on their impacts on the environment or human health, and they are not regulated by state or federal law. These are often referred to as "contaminants of emerging concern." The San Francisco Estuary Institute has studied these chemicals in the Bay since 2001. Scientists have identified the following most likely to have a negative impact on Bay wildlife: San Francisco Bay's profile changed dramatically in
3645-673: Is marked along the bridge with the signs "Emergency Parking Only". The third lane on the upper deck is a separated bicycle and pedestrian path. In 1977, Marin County was suffering one of its worst droughts in history. A temporary on-surface pipeline, six miles (10 km) long, was placed in the third lane. The pipe transferred 8,000,000 gallons of water a day from the East Bay Municipal Utility District 's mains in Richmond to Marin's 170,000 residents. By 1978,
3780-638: Is more automobile-oriented; and an area near the Eastshore Freeway. In 2006 voters approved of measure D which allows one medical cannabis dispensary in the town in addition to measure C to build a new emergency operations center with "sustainable features", an addition to the civic center of Albany. Albany is the site of Golden Gate Fields , which was the only horse racing track in the Bay Area until it closed in June 2024. Real estate prices have been rising steeply in recent years. The median price of
3915-548: Is now part of Interstate 580 . Upon its opening, the Richmond–San Rafael bridge was the last bridge across San Francisco Bay to replace a previous ferry service, leaving the Benicia–Martinez Ferry across Carquinez Strait as the only remaining auto ferry in the Bay Area (it would be replaced by a bridge in 1962). The bridge—including approaches—measures 5.5 miles (29,040 feet / 8,851.39 m / 8.9 km) long. At
4050-562: Is pierced by a tunnel linking the east and west spans of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge . Attached to the north is the artificial and flat Treasure Island , site of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition . From the Second World War until the 1990s, both islands served as military bases and are now being redeveloped. Isolated in the center of the bay is Alcatraz , the site of the famous federal penitentiary. The federal prison on Alcatraz Island no longer functions, but
4185-609: Is shipped throughout the Western United States to bakeries, canneries, fisheries, cheese makers and other food industries and used to de-ice winter highways, clean kidney dialysis machines, for animal nutrition, and in many industries. Many companies have produced salt in the bay, with the Leslie Salt Company the largest private land owner in the Bay Area in the 1940s. Low-salinity salt ponds mirror
Richmond–San Rafael Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-661: Is the second-largest estuary on the Pacific coast of the Americas, following the Salish Sea in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada. The bay was navigable as far south as San Jose until the 1850s, when hydraulic mining released massive amounts of sediment from the rivers that settled in those parts of the bay that had little or no current. Later, wetlands and inlets were deliberately filled in, reducing
4455-532: The COVID-19 pandemic , all-electronic tolling was placed in effect for all seven state-owned toll bridges. The MTC then installed new systems at all seven bridges to make them permanently cashless by the start of 2021. In April 2022, the Bay Area Toll Authority announced plans to remove all remaining unused toll booths and create an open-road tolling system which functions at highway speeds. In
4590-735: The Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay , which connects at its south end to San Francisco Bay. It then connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Golden Gate strait. However, this entire group of interconnected bays is often called the San Francisco Bay . The bay was designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance on February 2, 2013, and the Port of Oakland on
4725-928: The Dumbarton Rail Bridge , the first bridge crossing San Francisco Bay. The first automobile crossing was the Dumbarton Bridge , completed in January 1927. More crossings were later constructed – the Carquinez Bridge in May 1927, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936, the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge in 1956, and the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge in 1967. During
4860-663: The Eastshore State Park which skirts the San Francisco Bay, and the Albany Bulb . Albany has a school music program. High school music groups, both instrumental and choral, have performed at the CMEA , Reno Jazz, and other festivals. The Albany High School Jazz Band was also accepted at the Essentially Ellington festival at the Lincoln Center in 2010. Albany was one of 15 schools accepted into
4995-531: The Hayward Fault and an 8.3 magnitude quake on the San Andreas Fault . The foundation piers were strengthened by wrapping the lower section of structural steel in a concrete casing, installing new shear piles, and adding bracing to the structural steel towers. Isolation joints and bearings were also added to the main bridge structures (cantilever spans over the navigation channels) to strengthen
5130-633: The Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Recent genetic studies show that there is a local stock from San Francisco to the Russian River and that eastern Pacific coastal populations rarely migrate far, unlike western Atlantic Harbor porpoise. The common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ) has been extending its current range northwards from the Southern California Bight . The first coastal bottlenose dolphin in
5265-474: The Port of Monterey , continued north close to what is now Pacifica and reached the summit of the 1,200-foot-high (370 m) Sweeney Ridge , now marked as the place where he first sighted San Francisco Bay. Portolá and his party did not realize what they had discovered, thinking they had arrived at a large arm of what is now called Drakes Bay . At the time, Drakes Bay went by the name Bahia de San Francisco and thus both bodies of water became associated with
5400-521: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta remain perhaps California's most important ecological habitats . California's Dungeness crab , California halibut , and Pacific salmon fisheries rely on the bay as a nursery. The few remaining salt marshes now represent most of California's remaining salt marsh, supporting a number of endangered species and providing key ecosystem services such as filtering pollutants and sediments from
5535-609: The Wisconsin Glaciation , between 15,000 and about 10,000 years ago, the basin which is now filled by the San Francisco Bay was a large river valley with small hills, channeling the Sacramento River through the Golden Gate Strait into the ocean. When the great ice sheets began to melt, around 11,000 years ago, the sea level started to rise rapidly, by about 1 inch per year. Melting glaciers in
Richmond–San Rafael Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-435: The " Bay fill and depth profile " section. ) There are five large islands in San Francisco Bay. Alameda , the largest island, was created when a shipping lane was cut to form the Port of Oakland in 1901. It is now a suburban community. Angel Island was known as " Ellis Island West" because it served as the entry point for immigrants from East Asia. It is now a state park accessible by ferry. Mountainous Yerba Buena Island
5805-722: The 1950s, Long's 1927 bridge cost would have increased to reimburse losses to ferry revenues. Soon after winning the franchise rights, Long approached Van Damme with an offer to buy the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company for US$ 1,250,000 (equivalent to $ 22,200,000 in 2023). Van Damme and Long later agreed in September 1928 to merge their interests for a combined bridge proposal between Point San Pablo (Contra Costa County) and McNear's Point (Marin County). The combined project, now headed by Oscar Klatt for
5940-507: The 1967 San Mateo–Hayward Bridge , with a high-level western section approximately 7,700 feet (2,300 m) long transitioning to a low-level eastern causeway. The western section featured two 1,000-foot-wide (300 m) spans to cross the navigation channels, with the western navigation span having a minimum vertical clearance of 150 feet (46 m) and the eastern navigation span having a minimum vertical clearance of 135 feet (41 m). The 1,000-foot-wide (300 m) navigation channels for
6075-565: The 1989 earthquake, was built on fill that had been placed there for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition , although liquefaction did not occur on a large scale. In the 1990s, San Francisco International Airport proposed filling in hundreds more acres to extend its overcrowded international runways in exchange for purchasing other parts of the bay and converting them back to wetlands. The idea was, and remains, controversial. ( For further details, see
6210-552: The 20th century, the bay was subject to the 1940s Reber Plan , which would have filled in parts of the bay in order to increase industrial activity along the waterfront. In 1959, the United States Army Corps of Engineers released a report stating that if current infill trends continued, the bay would be as big as a shipping channel by 2020. This news created the Save the Bay movement in 1960, which mobilized to stop
6345-642: The Albany Children's Center. Albany High School is known as one of the best public schools of the San Francisco Bay Area for its academic excellence. The high school had a graduation rate of 92.1%, according to the 2009–10 School Accountability Report Card for the prior academic year. There are two private high schools in Albany: Tilden Preparatory School (formerly School for Independent Learners) on Solano Avenue and St. Mary's College High School , whose campus straddles
6480-542: The Albany–Tiburon bridge, US$ 670,000 (equivalent to $ 11,900,000 in 2023) for the Sausalito–Belvedere bridge, and US$ 35,000,000 (equivalent to $ 621,000,000 in 2023) for the San Francisco–Marin–Alameda tunnel and bridge. Tomasini organized each of the three proposed structures as independent projects, preferably to be built simultaneously, but in the event that one was not approved, it would not delay
6615-492: The American Toll Bridge Company, received approval for the routing from then- Secretary of War Good in May 1929, although vertical and horizontal clearances for the proposed bridge were not fully established at the time. In November 1929, vertical clearance had been increased to 160 feet (49 m) to satisfy Navy requirements. The construction permit was issued in February 1930. Klatt's 1929 bridge
6750-408: The Bay Area Toll Authority again raised tolls on all seven of the state-owned bridges in July 2010. The toll rate for autos on the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge was thus increased to $ 5. In June 2018, Bay Area voters approved Regional Measure 3 to further raise the tolls on all seven of the state-owned bridges to fund $ 4.5 billion worth of transportation improvements in the area. Under the passed measure,
6885-491: The Bay Area in recent times was spotted in 1983 off the San Mateo County coast in 1983. In 2001, bottlenose dolphins were first spotted east of the Golden Gate Bridge and confirmed by photographic evidence in 2007. Zooarcheological remains of bottlenose dolphins indicated that bottlenose dolphins inhabited San Francisco Bay in prehistoric times until at least 700 years before present, and dolphin skulls dredged from
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#17327805222647020-593: The Contra Costa terminus, and the remaining 62 are bell-type piers with a flared base. The original deck was a 5.5-inch (140 mm) thick reinforced concrete slab, with a mortar wearing surface 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick. To facilitate maintenance, the bridge was designed with two 2.5 inches (64 mm) lines (carrying compressed air and potable water) extending from end to end. Each deck was also equipped with three overhead maintenance tracks. Golden Gate Transit bus route 580 provides public transportation across
7155-532: The County of Marin and the City of Richmond commissioned a preliminary engineering report from Earl and Wright of San Francisco, which concluded that a bridge would be feasible. A follow-up 1950 study, conducted by the Division of San Francisco Bay Toll Crossings, was commissioned by Marin County and the City of Richmond using US$ 200,000 (equivalent to $ 2,530,000 in 2023) in state funding. The 1950 report concluded
7290-476: The Port of Oakland. Some six million cubic yards (160 million cubic feet; 4.6 million cubic meters) of mud from the dredging was deposited at the western edge of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park to become a 188-acre (0.294 sq mi; 0.76 km ) shallow-water wetlands habitat for marine and shore life. Further dredging followed in 2011, to maintain the navigation channel. This dredging enabled
7425-400: The Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company. The 1927 Van Damme bridge would have carried a 27-foot-wide (8.2 m) roadway for a distance of 19,000 feet (5,800 m) at an identical estimated construction cost of US$ 12,000,000 (equivalent to $ 210,500,000 in 2023). It would have spanned San Pablo Bay from Castro Point (Contra Costa County) to Point San Quentin (Marin County), approximately
7560-477: The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge to go to Oakland (and vice versa). After the Bay Bridge was reopened, the third lane was again closed. On February 11, 2015, the Bay Area Toll Authority approved a plan to install a protected bike and pedestrian path on the wide shoulder of the upper deck of the bridge. The path was expected to be complete in 2017, however it opened on November 16, 2019. As part of
7695-399: The Russian Timofei Nikitich Tarakanov , these hunting raids probably wiped out sea otters in the bay. Thousands of sea otter skins were taken to Sitka, then Guangzhou (Canton), China, where they commanded a high price. The United States seized the region from Mexico during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). On February 2, 1848, the Mexican province of Alta California was annexed to
7830-407: The Sierra Nevada washed huge amounts of sediment down the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which accumulated on the shores of the bay, forming huge mudflats and marshes that supported local wildlife. By 5000 BC the sea level rose 300 feet (90 m), filling the valley with water from the Pacific. The Farallon Islands are what used to be hills along the old coastline, and Potato Patch Shoal
7965-435: The United States with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . A year and a half later, California requested to join the United States on December 3, 1849, and was accepted as the 31st State of the Union on September 9, 1850. In 1921, a tablet was dedicated by a group of men in downtown San Francisco, marking the site of the original shoreline. The tablet reads: "This tablet marks the shore line of San Francisco Bay at
8100-431: The arrival of Europeans. Indigenous peoples used canoes to fish and clam along the shoreline. Sailing ships enabled transportation between the bay and other parts of the world—and served as ferries and freighters within the bay and between the bay and inland ports, such as Sacramento and Stockton. These were gradually replaced by steam-powered vessels starting in the late 19th century. Several shipyards were established around
8235-431: The arrival of the largest container ship ever to enter the San Francisco Bay, the MSC Fabiola . Bay pilots trained for the visit on a simulator at the California Maritime Academy for over a year. The ship arrived drawing less than its full draft of 50 feet 10 inches (15.5 m) because it held only three-quarters of a load after its stop in Long Beach. San Francisco Bay was traversed by watercraft before
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#17327805222648370-401: The average depth of the bay is only as deep as a swimming pool—approximately 12 to 15 ft (4–5 m). Between Hayward and San Mateo to San Jose it is 12 to 36 in (30–90 cm). The deepest part of the bay is under and out of the Golden Gate Bridge, at 372 ft (113 m). In the late 1990s, a 12-year harbor-deepening project for the Port of Oakland began; it
8505-533: The bay for non-motorized small boat users (such as kayakers) is being developed. Parks and protected areas around the bay include Eden Landing Ecological Reserve , Hayward Regional Shoreline , Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge , Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center , Crown Memorial State Beach , Eastshore State Park , Point Isabel Regional Shoreline , Brooks Island Regional Preserve , and César Chávez Park . The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed
8640-470: The bay is one of the busiest cargo ports on the west coast. The bay covers somewhere between 400 and 1,600 square miles (1,000–4,000 km ), depending on which sub-bays (such as San Pablo Bay), estuaries, wetlands , and so on are included in the measurement. The main part of the bay measures three to twelve miles (5–19 km) wide east-to-west and somewhere between 48 miles (77 km) and 60 miles (97 km) north-to-south. San Francisco Bay
8775-406: The bay perimeter. San Francisco Bay provided the nation's first wildlife refuge, Oakland's artificial Lake Merritt , constructed in the 1860s, and America's first urban National Wildlife Refuge, the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (SFBNWR) in 1972. The bay is also plagued by non-native species. Salt produced from San Francisco Bay is produced in salt evaporation ponds and
8910-417: The bay suggest occasional visitors in historic times. San Francisco Bay faces many of the same water quality issues as other urban waterways in industrialized countries, or downstream of intensive agriculture. According to state water quality regulators, San Francisco Bay waters do not meet water quality standards for the following pollutants: Industrial, mining, and other uses of mercury have resulted in
9045-404: The bay's size since the mid-19th century by as much as one third. Recently, large areas of wetlands have been restored, further confusing the issue of the bay's size. Despite its value as a waterway and harbor , many thousands of acres of marshy wetlands at the edges of the bay were, for many years, considered wasted space. As a result, soil excavated for building projects or dredged from channels
9180-415: The bay, augmented during wartime (e.g., the Kaiser Shipyards , Richmond Shipyards ) near Richmond in 1940 for World War II for construction of mass-produced, assembly line Liberty and Victory cargo ships . San Francisco Bay is spanned by nine bridges, eight of which carry cars . The Transbay Tube , an underwater rail tunnel, carries BART services between Oakland and San Francisco. Prior to
9315-424: The bonds during the construction period, and US$ 2,000,000 (equivalent to $ 22,800,000 in 2023) in construction contingency. In 1954, Governor Knight declared the second deck should not be delayed in the public interest, and US$ 6,000,000 (equivalent to $ 68,200,000 in 2023) was loaned from the State School Land Fund in 1955 to complete the second deck. The bridge was finished $ 4 million under budget. During
9450-468: The border with Berkeley, CA. The University of California, Berkeley owns a large student housing complex in Albany, University Village , which is primarily used for family housing. The Solano Avenue Stroll , an annual street festival held on Solano Avenue in Albany and Berkeley, attracts more than 250,000 visitors on the second Sunday of September. The event was started in 1975 by The Iris store owner and Solano Avenue Association founder Ira Klein as
9585-469: The bridge could be built in accordance with the California Toll Bridge Authority Act. The preliminary design was approved on August 8, 1951 and California approved the preliminary report on November 27, 1951. The California Toll Bridge Authority authorized the issue of US$ 72,000,000 (equivalent to $ 826,100,000 in 2023) in bonds on November 7, 1952 and subsequently sold US$ 62,000,000 (equivalent to $ 706,100,000 in 2023) on February 26, 1953 to construct
9720-548: The bridge. Formerly route 40, it runs between the San Rafael Transit Center and the El Cerrito del Norte BART station . Golden Gate Transit Route 42, which provided service to Richmond BART/Amtrak station, was folded into route 40 in December 2015 that was later redesignated line 580, after the freeway on which it crosses the bay. Tolls are only collected from westbound traffic headed to San Rafael at
9855-398: The bridge. In one, the hero Jack Hatfield escapes his enemies by climbing the work ladders built into the piers. In the film Magnum Force , the bridge is in the background when Dirty Harry and the rookie cop are on motorcycles on the ship's decks where they attempt to subdue each other. The bridge is also visible in the 1982 film 48 Hours . San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay
9990-620: The bridges and, later, the Transbay Tube, transbay transportation was dominated by fleets of ferryboats operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Key System transit company. However, in recent decades, ferries have returned, primarily serving commuters from Marin County, relieving the traffic bottleneck of the Golden Gate Bridge (see Ferries of San Francisco Bay ). The bay also continues to serve as
10125-424: The cantilever main spans share identical symmetric designs, so the "uphill" grade on the approach required for the elevated span is duplicated on the other "downhill" side, resulting in a depressed center truss section. In addition, because the navigation channels are not parallel to each other, the bridge also does not follow a straight line. This appearance has also been referred to as a "bent coat hanger". After it
10260-541: The center of the bay, following the ancient drowned river valley. In the 1860s and continuing into the early 20th century, miners dumped staggering quantities of mud and gravel from hydraulic mining operations into the upper Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. GK Gilbert's estimates of debris total more than eight times the amount of rock and dirt moved during construction of the Panama Canal. This material flowed down
10395-460: The complex is a popular tourist site. Despite its name, Mare Island in the northern part of the bay is a peninsula rather than an island. San Francisco Bay is thought to represent a down-warping of the Earth's crust between the San Andreas Fault to the west and the Hayward Fault to the east, though the precise nature of this remains under study. About 560,000 years ago, a tectonic shift caused
10530-763: The construction of the other two. San Francisco's board of supervisors rejected Tomasini's San Francisco–Marin–Alameda tunnel and bridge in September 1928, although the board's action was non-binding. By February 1932, Tomasini's proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge had changed to a combination bridge—tunnel. The bridge portion was a low trestle approximately 19,800 feet (6,000 m) long, extending westward from Point Fleming in Albany in Alameda County. The proposed tunnel would have been 17,200 feet (5,200 m) long and ventilated by four towers, emerging at Bluff Point near Tiburon in Marin County. Total estimated cost for
10665-443: The corroded, 50-foot (15 m) concrete segments of the old roadway were removed by crane. Then, a pile driver moved into position and drove new piles. After the new concrete road segment was in place, steel plates were used to temporarily fill the gaps, and the roadway was ready for morning traffic. At times, construction backed up traffic to Highway 101 into central San Rafael. The completion of this retrofit, on September 22, 2005,
10800-592: The creation of a bridge would eliminate the promised San Francisco-Tiburon ferry service. In 1931, the Richardson Bay Redwood Bridge was opened, which was the largest structure in the world constructed of redwood. The Redwood Bridge carried the Redwood Highway (present-day US 101) and spanned the upper reach of Richardson Bay, eliminating some of the need for the proposed Sausalito–Belvedere bridge. The Redwood Bridge would be replaced by
10935-459: The decades surrounding 1900, at the behest of local political officials and following Congressional orders, the U.S. Army Corps began dredging the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the deep channels of San Francisco Bay. This work has continued without interruption ever since. Some of the dredge spoils were initially dumped in the bay shallows (including helping to create Treasure Island on
11070-400: The drivers of the horse-drawn garbage wagons to go home, which they did quickly and without complaint. Shortly thereafter, the residents of the town voted to incorporate as the City of Ocean View. In 1909, voters changed the name of the city, primarily to distinguish the city from the adjacent section of Berkeley which had previously been named Ocean View . On a vote of 38 to 6 the city
11205-520: The drought subsided and the pipeline was removed. The disused third lane was then restriped as a shoulder. In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake , the third lane was opened up as a normal lane to accommodate increased traffic after the Bay Bridge was shut down because of a failure of that span. Many commuters from San Francisco drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin and then across
11340-513: The east to San Rafael on the west. It opened in 1956, replacing ferry service by the Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company , and was officially renamed in 1981 to honor California State Senator John F. McCarthy , who championed the bridge's creation. Proposals for a bridge were advanced in the 1920s, preceding the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1927, Roy O. Long of The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, Incorporated, applied for
11475-419: The ecosystem of the bay, with fish and fish-eating birds in abundance. Mid-salinity ponds support dense populations of brine shrimp , which provide a rich food source for millions of shorebirds. Only salt-tolerant micro-algae survive in the high salinity ponds, and impart a deep red color to these ponds from the pigment within the algae protoplasm. The salt marsh harvest mouse is an endangered species endemic to
11610-514: The expedition's cartographer, José de Cañizares, gathered the information necessary to produce the first map of the area. A number of place names survive (anglicized) from that first map, including Point Reyes , Angel Island , Farallon Islands , and Alcatraz Island . Alaskan Native sea otter hunters using Aleutian kayaks and working for the Russian–American Company entered San Francisco Bay in 1807 and again over 1810–1811. Led by
11745-402: The fall of 2001, the bridge commenced an extensive seismic retrofit program, similar to other bridges in the area. The retrofit was designed by a three-way joint venture between Gerwick / Sverdrup / DMJM under a US$ 19,000,000 (equivalent to $ 38,000,000 in 2023) design contract awarded in 1995. The retrofit is intended to allow the two-tier bridge to withstand a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on
11880-478: The festival. Albany Strollers & Rollers is a volunteer group dedicated to service and advocacy for bicycling and walking. Friends of Five Creeks is an all-volunteer group working hands-on for clean water and healthy watersheds. The Albany Sauna is one of the oldest Finnish-style saunas open to the public in North America. Built in 1934 by Finnish-American Henry Walter Lundgren (a founding member of
12015-479: The first time in 65 years, Pacific Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) returned to the bay in 2009. Golden Gate Cetacean Research, a non-profit organization focused on research on cetaceans , has developed a photo-identification database enabling the scientists to identify specific porpoise individuals and is trying to ascertain whether a healthier bay has brought their return. Pacific harbor porpoise range from Point Conception , California, to Alaska and across to
12150-561: The former shoals to the north of Yerba Buena Island ) and used to raise islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The net effect of dredging has been to maintain a narrow deep channel—deeper perhaps than the original bay channel—through a much shallower bay. At the same time, most of the marsh areas have been filled or blocked off from the bay by dikes . Large ships transiting the bay must follow deep underwater channels that are maintained by frequent dredging as
12285-503: The infill of wetlands and the bay in general, which had shrunk to two-thirds of its size in the century before 1961. The San Francisco Bay continues to support some of the densest industrial production and urban settlement in the United States. The San Francisco Bay Area is the American West's second-largest urban area, with approximately seven million residents. Despite its urban and industrial character, San Francisco Bay and
12420-469: The large inland Lake Corcoran to spill out the central valley and through the Carquinez Strait , carving out sediment and forming canyons in what is now the northern part of the San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate strait . San Francisco Bay has been filled and emptied of sea water many times during the Pleistocene in accordance with sea level changes caused by glacial advances and retreats. During
12555-482: The largest oil spill in the region since 1996. The bay also has some of the highest levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen known from any coastal water body, mostly originating from treated wastewater from Publicly owned treatment works . In other bays, such nutrient levels would likely lead to eutrophication , but historically, the bay has had less harmful algal blooms than other water bodies with similar nutrient concentrations. Potential explanations have included
12690-561: The late 19th century and again with the initiation of dredging by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 20th century. Before about 1860, most bay shores (with the exception of rocky shores, such as those in Carquinez Strait; along Marin shoreline; Point Richmond; Golden Gate area) contained extensive wetlands that graded nearly invisibly from freshwater wetlands to salt marsh and then tidal mudflat. A deep channel ran through
12825-675: The low bid came in at US$ 484,403,479 (equivalent to $ 857,000,000 in 2023) from the Tutor-Saliba/Koch/Tidewater Joint Venture. Caltrans revised their estimate to US$ 665,000,000 (equivalent to $ 1,144,300,000 in 2023) in May 2001 when more funds were appropriated for California's Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program in Assembly Bill 1171. The cost was again adjusted during an August 2004 review by Caltrans, this time to US$ 914,000,000 (equivalent to $ 1,474,400,000 in 2023). The final cost of
12960-534: The name. Eventually, the larger, more important body of water fully appropriated the name San Francisco Bay . The first European to enter the bay is believed to have been the Spanish explorer Juan de Ayala , who passed through the Golden Gate on August 5, 1775, in his ship the San Carlos and moored in a bay of Angel Island now known as Ayala Cove. Ayala continued to explore the San Francisco Bay Area and
13095-457: The north. Albany's northern and southern borders are defined by two creeks, Codornices Creek on the south and Cerrito Creek on the north. Cerrito Creek takes its name from "El Cerrito de San Antonio", now known as Albany Hill . The hill's unusual location near the bay shore makes it a prominent landmark in the East Bay. The rest of the city is relatively flat by Bay Area standards, except for
13230-439: The opening of the bridge: The basic toll (for automobiles) on the seven state bridges, including the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, was raised to $ 1 by Regional Measure 1, approved by Bay Area voters in 1988. A $ 1 seismic retrofit surcharge was added in 1998 by the state legislature, originally for eight years, but since then extended to December 2037 (AB1171, October 2001). On March 2, 2004, voters approved Regional Measure 2, raising
13365-641: The population) lived in households, 74 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 11 (0.1%) were institutionalized. There were 7,401 households, out of which 2,909 (39.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,801 (51.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 883 (11.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 295 (4.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 341 (4.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 123 (1.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships ; 1,862 households (25.2%) were made up of individuals, and 593 (8.0%) had someone living alone who
13500-559: The population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,384 people (50.6%) lived in rental housing units. Through the early 1940's Albany "remained closed to African Americans." The Black population of Albany in 1940 was 3 persons. Between 1950 and 1960, the Black population of Albany fell 95% from 1778 to 75. The major retail and business areas in Albany are Solano Avenue, which is a pedestrian-oriented street lined with mainly small shops, restaurants, and services; San Pablo Avenue, which
13635-416: The presence of intensive "top-down control" from grazing clams like Potamocorbula , high sediment supply limiting light availability for the algae, and intensive tidal mixing. The occurrence of an unprecedented harmful algal bloom of Heterosigma akashiwo in 2022, resulting in mass fish deaths and anoxia, suggests that the mechanisms of control on algal growth may be eroding. The bay was once considered
13770-408: The project's senior engineers were the same ones who had worked on the Bay Bridge, with their design reflecting lessons they had learned from doing so. From west (Point San Quentin) to east (Castro Point), the bridge consists of: Excluding approaches, the bridge structures comprise a total length of 21,335 feet (6,503 m) on the upper deck and 22,125 feet (6,744 m) on the lower deck. Despite
13905-603: The proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge were opposed by shipping interests, who wanted the channels to be 1,500 feet (460 m) wide instead. The cost of the longer spans required would have made the proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge impractical, and Tomasini argued that "any mariner who could not negotiate a bridge such as proposed should lose his license." Tomasini would later add a bridge spanning Richardson Bay in March 1928 from Sausalito to Belvedere to his proposal. The additional Sausalito–Belvedere bridge would have been 7,300 feet (2,200 m) long and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide with
14040-499: The retrofit program, was nearly completely replaced. Because of the active use of the bridge, Caltrans designed the project to allow the bridge to remain open to traffic. For economy, schedule efficiency and traffic impact mitigation, much of the repair work was fabricated off site and shipped to the bridge by barge. To reduce impacts to traffic the major work was performed at night. Caltrans kept two lanes of traffic moving in each direction during daylight hours, then reduced that flow to
14175-411: The retrofit, however, was $ 778 million, or $ 136 million below this August 2004 estimate. In both directions, the bridge is wide enough to accommodate three lanes of traffic. The bridge previously operated with all three lanes in both directions opened to traffic after the lower deck was completed in 1957. Currently the third lane on the lower deck is used as a right-hand shoulder or a "breakdown lane" and
14310-463: The rivers, progressively eroding into finer and finer sediment, until it reached the bay system. Here some of it settled, eventually filling in Suisun Bay, San Pablo Bay, and San Francisco Bay, in decreasing order of severity. By the end of the 19th century, these " slickens " had filled in much of the shallow bay flats, raising the entire bay profile. New marshes were created in some areas. In
14445-896: The rivers. San Francisco Bay is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy , with oversight provided by the San Francisco Estuary Partnership . Most famously, the bay is a key link in the Pacific Flyway . Millions of waterfowl annually use the bay shallows as a refuge. Two endangered species of birds are found here: the California least tern and the Ridgway's Rail . Exposed bay muds provide important feeding areas for shorebirds , but underlying layers of bay mud pose geological hazards for structures near many parts of
14580-437: The same project, a third eastbound lane was added the previous year on the lower deck to be available for evening commutes. Like most San Francisco Bay bridges, the Richmond–San Rafael is subject to closure in the event of strong crosswinds. The bridge has been closed due to wind at least three times: in 1963, in the late '70s, and in 2008. On February 7, 2019, the bridge was closed for several hours due to concrete falling from
14715-413: The same routing as the eventually completed 1956 bridge. Although the 1927 Long bridge had been granted a franchise in February 1928, Van Damme subsequently petitioned to reopen the case, since the ferry company owned the land at the proposed eastern terminus and therefore should have been favored in the franchise selection process. Also, since the ferry company's franchise rights were not set to expire until
14850-474: The structure. The fifty-year-old bridge was showing its age and also needed age-related maintenance, which was performed in conjunction with the seismic upgrade work. There were reports of cars being damaged while traveling on the lower deck by fist-sized concrete chunks falling from the joints of upper deck slabs. A major part of the retrofit involved the long concrete causeway on the Marin side, which as part of
14985-598: The study period, an earth and rock-fill bridge with lift structures was considered, but the high-level bridge was chosen as the cost of a low bridge with navigation locks and lifting structures was prohibitive. The majority of construction costs were tied up in two contracts that opened for bidding on December 19, 1952. The first contract, for the substructure, was awarded to the low bidder, the Ben C. Gerwick, Inc. — Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. Joint Venture for US$ 14,234,550 (equivalent to $ 162,100,000 in 2023). The second contract, for
15120-401: The superstructure, was awarded to the low bid of US$ 21,099,319 (equivalent to $ 240,300,000 in 2023) by a joint venture between Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. — A. Soda & Son — Judson Pacific Murphy Corp. The substructure construction moved rapidly, with an estimated 45% of piers completed approximately a year after the contract was awarded. The bridge with the upper deck was opened in 1956. It
15255-421: The time it was built, it was one of the world's longest bridges. The bridge spans two ship channels and has two separate main cantilever spans. Both main cantilever spans are raised to allow ship traffic to pass, and in between, there is a "dip" in the elevation of the center section, giving the bridge a vertical undulation or " roller coaster " appearance and also the nickname "roller coaster span". To save money,
15390-734: The time of the discovery of gold in California, January 24, 1848. Map reproduced above delineates old shore line. Placed by the Historic Landmarks committee, Native Sons of the Golden West , 1921." The bay became the center of American settlement and commerce in the Far West through most of the remainder of the 19th century. During the California Gold Rush (1848–1855), San Francisco Bay suddenly became one of
15525-446: The toll by another dollar to a total of $ 3. An additional dollar was added to the toll starting January 1, 2007, to cover cost overruns concerning the replacement of the eastern span. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission , a regional transportation agency, in its capacity as the Bay Area Toll Authority , administers RM1 and RM2 funds, allocating a significant portion to public transit capital improvements and operating subsidies in
15660-460: The toll plaza on the east side of the bridge. All-electronic tolling has been in effect since 2020, and drivers may either pay using the FasTrak electronic toll collection device, using the license plate tolling program, or via a one time payment online. Effective January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2024 ( 2022-01-01 – 2024-12-31 ) , the toll rate for passenger cars
15795-503: The toll rate for autos on the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge will be increased to $ 6 on January 1, 2019; to $ 7 on January 1, 2022; and then to $ 8 on January 1, 2025. In September 2019, the MTC approved a $ 4 million plan to eliminate toll takers and convert all seven of the state-owned bridges to all-electronic tolling , citing that 80 percent of drivers are now using Fastrak and the change would improve traffic flow. On March 20, 2020, accelerated by
15930-645: The top employers in the city were: Public schools in Albany are operated by the Albany Unified School District , a special-purpose district whose borders match the city's. The school district operates three elementary schools (Marin Elementary School, Ocean View Elementary School and Cornell Elementary School), one middle school (Albany Middle School), one traditional high school ( Albany High School ), and one continuation high school ( MacGregor High School ), in addition to
16065-499: The transportation corridors the bridges serve. Caltrans administers the "second dollar" seismic surcharge, and receives some of the MTC-administered funds to perform other maintenance work on the bridges. The Bay Area Toll Authority is made up of appointed officials put in place by various city and county governments, and is not subject to direct voter oversight. Due to further funding shortages for seismic retrofit projects,
16200-407: The tunnel would surface northwest of Goat Island , and then transition to a bridge nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) long with a minimum vertical clearance of 50 feet (15 m) and two lift spans connecting to the proposed Albany–Tiburon bridge. The cost of the entire project was US$ 55,670,000 (equivalent to $ 987,800,000 in 2023), split as US$ 20,000,000 (equivalent to $ 354,900,000 in 2023) for
16335-465: The two structures was now US$ 35,000,000 (equivalent to $ 781,600,000 in 2023) and despite opposition from the US Navy, who cited potential navigation hazards, the bridge—tunnel was approved by the War Department in July 1932. Although he had the permit to begin work, Tomasini filed numerous annual extensions to retain the rights through 1941, apparently due to a lack of funding to start work. Tomasini
16470-432: The upper deck to the lower. On July 21, 2023, the bridge was closed in the eastbound direction for more than 19 hours due to a disturbed person on the bridge; the goal of this closure was to "not cause him to jump off or cause him to fall into the water and also keeping that communication open." The bridge reopened following the man's rescue. The novel Abuse of Power by Michael Savage has several important scenes set on
16605-444: The varying height of the bridge, roadway grades are limited to 3% or less. As completed, the bridge has two decks each capable of carrying three lanes of traffic. As of 2020, westbound traffic rides on the upper deck and is marked with two lanes of vehicle traffic, as well as a pedestrian/bicycle path separated from vehicles by a movable barrier. Eastbound traffic rides on the lower deck and features two lanes of vehicle traffic as well as
16740-434: The wetlands of the San Francisco Bay with a high salt tolerance. It needs native pickleweed , which is often displaced by invasive cordgrass, for its habitat. The seasonal range of water temperature in the bay is from January's 53 °F (12 °C) to September's 60 °F (16 °C) when measured at Fort Point , which is near the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge and at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. For
16875-559: The world's great seaports, dominating shipping in the American West until the last years of the 19th century. The bay's regional importance increased further when the first transcontinental railroad was connected to its western terminus at Alameda on September 6, 1869. The terminus was switched to the Oakland Long Wharf two months later on November 8, 1869. In 1910, the Southern Pacific railroad company built
17010-430: Was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males. There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of 1,443.5 per square mile (557.3/km ), of 7,401 which were occupied, of which 3,574 (48.3%) were owner-occupied, and 3,827 (51.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%. 9,070 people (48.9% of
17145-421: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49. There were 4,979 families (67.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.00. The population was diverse in age, with 4,630 people (25.0%) under the age of 18, 1,006 people (5.4%) aged 18 to 24, 6,154 people (33.2%) aged 25 to 44, 4,902 people (26.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,847 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
17280-455: Was celebrated as a success despite the many challenges, including the deaths of two workers. The retrofit was originally estimated by Caltrans engineers at US$ 329,000,000 (equivalent to $ 601,700,000 in 2023), but Caltrans adjusted the estimate to US$ 393,272,000 (equivalent to $ 695,800,000 in 2023) in 2000 during the bidding process. While most of the resulting bids were close to US$ 545,000,000 (equivalent to $ 964,300,000 in 2023),
17415-454: Was completed, many were disappointed by the appearance of the bridge; Frank Lloyd Wright , a famous designer who was not an engineer, reportedly called for it to be destroyed due to its ugliness, and complained that it was "the most awful thing I've ever seen" during its construction in 1953. Contrariwise, the neighboring Golden Gate Bridge , and the western span of the Bay Bridge , had been considered engineering and historical marvels. However,
17550-483: Was dedicated on August 31, and opened for traffic on September 1 with one traffic lane per direction. At the time, it was the world's second-longest bridge, behind the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, as well as the longest continuous steel bridge. The lower deck opened on August 20, 1957, at which point there were three lanes of traffic per direction. Originally a part of State Route 17 , the bridge
17685-491: Was dormant for nearly a decade following the issuance of a construction permit in 1930. An extension was filed in 1938 to allow construction to start as late as February 1942, and fresh plans for a bridge district to facilitate financing were announced in 1939. In 1947, interest was revived in bridging Marin and Contra Costa Counties. A third bridge was proposed in late 1927 by the enigmatic T.A. Tomasini . Tomasini's 1927 bridge called for two lanes of automobile traffic straddling
17820-646: Was largely completed by September 2009. Previously, the bay waters and harbor facilities only allowed for ships with a draft of 46 ft (14 m), but dredging activities undertaken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Port of Oakland succeeded in providing access for vessels with a 50-foot (15 m) draft. Four dredging companies were employed in the US$ 432 ;million project, with $ 244 million paid for with federal funds and $ 188 million supplied by
17955-472: Was often dumped onto the wetlands and other parts of the bay as landfill. From the mid-19th century through the late 20th century, more than a third of the original bay was filled and often built on. The deep, damp soil in these areas is subject to soil liquefaction during earthquakes, and most of the major damage close to the bay in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 occurred to structures on these areas. The Marina District of San Francisco, hard hit by
18090-482: Was renamed in honor of Albany, New York , the birthplace of the city's first mayor, Frank Roberts. Albany has a history of real estate discrimination, which made it difficult for non-white buyers to acquire property and build homes in Albany. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14 km ), of which 1.8 square miles (4.7 km )
18225-526: Was still scrambling for funding in August 1941, seeking the issue of bonds worth US$ 20,000,000 (equivalent to $ 414,300,000 in 2023). Tomasini lost the rights to the crossing in October 1941, which was not the first time he was opposed by Earl Warren , who had questioned the validity of Tomasini's franchise as early as 1933. Still, Tomasini was doggedly trying to advance his plans as late as 1948. In 1949,
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