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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June/July 2004

Project Update:
New Carquinez Bridge Path Offers Spectacular Vistas and Forms Critical Link in Regional Trails

Carquinez Bridge path

The path along the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge (the new westbound span of the Carquinez Bridge) began welcoming bicyclists and pedestrians in mid-May, closing a major gap in two regional trail systems while providing outdoor enthusiasts with a dramatic new recreational experience.

The 12-foot-wide multiuse path constitutes a long-anticipated link in the San Francisco Bay Trail, a work in progress that ultimately will encircle San Francisco and San Pablo bays along a 500-mile alignment, hugging the shoreline most of the way. It also doubles as a vital link in the Bay Area Ridge Trail, whose alignment encircles the region along the ridgelines — offering views of the bays.

The path is the crowning touch for the Zampa bridge, which cross-es the Carquinez Strait along Interstate 80 and opened to traffic in November 2003. The bike/pedestrian lane is set off with green railings that provide a striking counterpoint to the ultramodern suspension span’s red cables and gray, concrete towers.

Positioned on the west side of the new span, the path provides unobstructed views of San Pablo Bay and adjacent shorelines. Stretching from Maritime Academy Drive on the northern side to a soon-to-be landscaped trailhead at the southern end in Crockett, the new path measures 1.6 miles, and links to many more miles of existing trails along the Carquinez Strait and the San Pablo Bay shoreline as well as through Vallejo.

The $500 million Carquinez Bridge project, including the bike path, was financed with Regional Measure 1 bridge tolls, which are administered by MTC’s Bay Area Toll Authority. The project brings the number of Bay Area toll bridges with a bicycle/pedestrian path to four, the others being the Golden Gate Bridge, the Dumbarton Bridge and the Antioch Bridge*.

The new path is open to wheelchair users, bicyclists and pedestrians daily from sunrise to sunset; no rollerblades, skateboards or dogs are allowed.
— Brenda Kahn
(Photo: Bill T. Hall)

*For information on bicycle access across the other bridges, go to www.bicycling.511.org.

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