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Well deserving of
honorable mention is the other bridge, the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge. As Maryann is to Ginger and Jan is to Marcia,
the Bay Bridge is usually overshadowed by its celebrated counterpart. Completed
in 1936, about six months before the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge
spans 8 and a quarter miles between San Francisco, Yerba Buena Island, and
Oakland. Not to be outshone by its sister on the other side of the bay,
the Bay Bridge has its own place in architectural history. It is the longest
high level steel bridge in the world. The Yerba Buena Tunnel has a circumference
of 58 feet and is the world's tallest bore.
(And you though it was Al Gore.) The foundations of the Bay Bridge extend
to the greatest depth of any bridge. The deeper of its two piers in excess
of 200 feet required more concrete to build than did New York's Empire State
Building. A replacement for the bridge's eastern span is under construction,
as is retrofitting on the western span, more than a dozen years after the
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake which underscored their necessity. Though the
busy Bay Bridge is closed to pedestrians, a nighttime drive from Oakland
to the City over the bridge is a lovely one. If you stay in the right hand
lane, riders in the passenger side will always feel like Superman flying
into Metropolis as the lights high above the City sparkle in front of the
scene. Detail
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VIII
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IX
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XI
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XII
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XIII: Eastern Span
Detail
XIV: New on ramps
Detail
XV: Freeway Revolt
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