The inevitable result of the unstoppable force of the California car culture when faced with the unmovable obstacle of the San Francisco Bay, five bridges span different areas of the San Francisco Bay itself, and three more bridges upstream cross the waters that feed into the bay. Several of the bridges were deemed impossible to build and set records when they were constructed - the most notable and famous is of course the Golden Gate Bridge.
From north to south, the 5 bridges crossing the bay itself are:
- Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
- I-580, Richmond (Alameda County) to San Rafael (Marin County)
- Golden Gate Bridge
- US 101, San Francisco to Marin County
- San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
- I-80, San Francisco to Oakland (Alameda County)
- San Mateo Bridge
- CA 92, Hayward/San Leandro (Alameda County) to San Mateo/Redwood City (San Mateo County)
- Dumbarton Bridge
- CA 84, Newark/Fremont (Alameda County) to Menlo Park/Palo Alto (Santa Clara County)
From west to east, the three upstream bridges are:
- Carquinez Bridge
- I-80, Vallejo to Crockett
- Benicia Bridge
- I-680, Benicia to Martinez
- Antioch Bridge
- Antioch to Lodi/Rio Vista
Car toll is $3 on all bridges except the Golden Gate ($5). Tolls are collected one-way only, for vehicles travelling northbound on the upstream bridges, southbound on the Golden Gate, and westbound on all the others. Regular travelers can get FasTrak radio transponders to pay tolls electronically without stopping.