” The self-proclaimed Emperor Norton I saw fit to decree several times that a suspension bridge be constructed to connect Oakland with San Francisco. ![]() ![]() A daily newspaper attempts to account for the advice of these gentlemen to the city by hinting that they were afraid of the railroad company, and therefore made their recommendations to suit its interests. Ralston, ex-Mayor Selby and James Otis were on this committee. The April 1872 issue of the San Francisco Real Estate Circular contained an item about the committee: “ The Bay Bridge Committee lately submitted its report to the Board of Supervisors, in which compromise with the Central Pacific was recommended also the bridging of the bay at Ravenswood and the granting of railroad facilities at Mission Bay and on the water front. In early 1872, a "Bay Bridge Committee" was hard at work on plans to construct a railroad bridge. Several newspaper articles during the early 1870s discussed the idea. The concept of a bridge spanning the San Francisco Bay had been considered since the Gold Rush days. The fear of many San Franciscans was that the city would lose its position as the regional center of trade. But after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in May 1869, San Francisco found itself to be on the wrong side of the bay, separated from the new rail link. Almost all goods not produced locally arrived by ship. History Pre-construction San Francisco, located at the mouth of the bay, was in a perfect location to prosper during the California Gold Rush. Those who only travel from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island, and not the entire length to the main part of San Francisco, must still pay the full toll. Because the toll plaza is on the Oakland side, traffic between the island and the main part of San Francisco can freely cross back and forth without ever paying a toll. Freeway ramps next to the tunnel provide access to Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island. A California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) bicycle shuttle operates during peak commute hours for $1.00 each way. Pedestrians, bicycles, and other non-freeway vehicles and devices are not allowed. The bridge is currently restricted to motorized freeway traffic. Since the number of lanes on the San Francisco approach is structurally restricted, backups are frequent in the eastbound direction during evening commute hours. During the morning commute hours, traffic congestion on the Oakland approach stretches back onto the three feeder highways, Interstate 580, Interstate 880, and Interstate 80 toward Richmond, California. The two far-left toll lanes are operated as high-occupancy vehicle lanes during weekday morning and afternoon commute periods. Two full-time bus-only lanes bypass the toll booths and metering lights around the right (north) side of the toll plaza other high occupancy vehicles are permitted to use these lanes during weekday morning and afternoon commute periods. ![]() Mainline metering signals are located approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) west of the toll plaza. The toll plaza on the Oakland side (since 1969 for westbound traffic only) has eighteen toll lanes, of which six are dedicated FasTrak lanes. The viaduct sections east of the tunnel are at present being modified, bypassed and replaced as part of the seismic safety work that will eventually transition traffic onto and off of the self-anchored suspension (SAS) bridge of the new eastern bay crossing. On Yerba Buena Island, the double-decked crossing consists of a 321-foot (98 m) concrete viaduct east of the west span's cable anchorage, a 540-foot (160 m) tunnel through the island's rocky central hill, another 790.8-foot (241.0 m) concrete viaduct, and a longer curved high-level steel truss viaduct that spans the final 1,169.7 feet (356.5 m) to the cantilever bridge. Due to earthquake concerns the eastern crossing is being replaced by an entirely new crossing, to be finished in late 2013. The eastern crossing, between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland, is a cantilever bridge that consists of a double-tower span, five medium truss spans, and a 14-section truss causeway. The top of the Rincon Hill neighborhood serves as the western anchorage and touch-down for the San Francisco landing of the bridge connected by three shorter truss spans. It is composed of two complete suspension spans connected at a center anchorage. The Western crossing lies between Yerba Buena and the rest of San Francisco. The bridge consists of two major crossings connecting each shore with Yerba Buena Island, a natural outcropping located mid-bay that is part of the city of San Francisco.
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