Of course it’s only been two decades since the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, so it’s only natural that we’re still working on it. Let’s check out progress on California’s Bridge to Nowhere So Far.
That’s Treasure Island you can see ‘neath the Bay Bridge’s northern cable, and there’s Azkaban in the background. Click to expand:
But guess what - a “15.5-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path will run along the eastbound deck of the 2-mile long structure.”
Can you see the white bicycle and pedestrian path there on the near side of the new eastern span? They even have balconies. Check it:
Man, that’s going to be awesome. What’s the speed limit going to be for those going downhill?
Try to imagine it filled up with cars though, as that’s how it’s going to be, 24-7. Think back to the old days when traffic was so light you could pull over and conversate, at least that’s the way it was according to this segment of Shadow of the Thin Man from 1941 (at about minute 8:30 or so). (And all the trains were underneath on the lower deck, but that’s another story.)
(One time, I managed to change a tire (illegally?) on the upper deck of the suspension span, but that’s another story. A scary story)
But hey, what about a bike path on the western span? Well, that’s still pie in the sky these days. Maybe in a couple MORE decades…
Required reading:
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span Seismic Safety Project : pedestrian & bicycle study.
/ California. Department of Transportation. Oakland, CA : Caltrans, 1998.
TG25 .S33,C275 1998 no.10
Feasibility report : San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge West Span : bicycle / pedestrian / maintenance path planning and feasibility study
/ prepared by CH2M Hill in association with SC Solutions. Oakland, CA : Caltrans, 2001.
TG25 .S335 C27 2001r Oversize New Book Shelf.
And There You Have It.
See you there!
