Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge, complex crossing that spans San Francisco Bay from the city of San Francisco to Oakland via Yerba Buena Island. One of the preeminent engineering feats of the 20th century, it was built during the 1930s under the direction of C.H. Purcell. It opened to traffic on November 12, 1936.

The double-deck crossing extends 8 miles (13 km) and consists of two end-to-end suspension bridges of 2,310-foot (704-metre) main spans and 1,160-foot (354-metre) side spans; an exceptionally large-bore tunnel through Yerba Buena Island that extends about 0.5 mile (about 800 metres); a cantilever bridge with a main span of 1,400 feet (427 metres); and a long viaduct to the Oakland shore. The greatest challenge in the construction of the Bay Bridge was the sinking to bedrock (some 265 feet [81 metres]) of the central anchorage for the two suspension bridges. This feat was accomplished by use of a multiple-dome caisson invented by Daniel Moran.

A section of the Bay Bridge’s upper deck collapsed during an earthquake that struck the San Francisco area on October 17, 1989, requiring lengthy repair (see San Francisco earthquake of 1989). In September 2009 the bridge was briefly closed to allow for replacement of a section of the eastern span, the upgrade being part of a plan to make the bridge more seismically sound.