The Bay Bridge is what people usually call the
San Francisco-
Oakland Bay
Bridge, which was completed in
1936, one year before its more
famous (and more frequently
fogged-in) sister, the
Golden Gate Bridge. It is the longest steel high-level bridge
in the world. The
Yerba Buena tunnel that goes through
Yerba Buena Island midway through the bridge is the tallest
bore in the world. And the bridge is also the most expensive single structure ever built. The deepest
pier of the structure contains more
concrete than the entire
Empire State Building.
The entire bridge, including the approaches, is 43,500 feet long. Many people said it couldn't be built, but it remains a huge
success.
Commuters (me included!) travel it every morning from the
East Bay, enjoying the views of the
water,
ships,
sea birds,
Alcatraz, the
Golden Gate Bridge, and the San Francisco
skyline. It's currenly being
retrofitted for more advanced
earthquake safety, but remains open.
You can see live views of and from the Bridge at:
http://www.rearden.com/live/default.html
and photographs from its construction at http://www.sfmuseum.org/assoc/bridge00.html