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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2001

Project Update:
New Bridges Rising From the Bay

Four hundred is the magic number (more or less) for San Mateo-Hayward Bridge commuters counting the days until the widening of the low-rise section is complete. Construction of the 5.1-mile trestle is at the halfway mark, and the entire section is slated to open in December 2002. When the roughly $204 million project is complete, the bridge will have three lanes in each direction, shore to shore.

Widening of the San Mateo Bridge is one of several projects being funded through Regional Measure 1 (RM 1), approved by Bay Area voters in 1988. MTC oversees the RM 1 program in its role as the Bay Area Toll Authority. Also under way is the construction of an all-new, four-lane bridge to replace the 74-year-old span that carries westbound Interstate 80 over the Carquinez Strait from Vallejo to Crockett. MTC and Caltrans opted to replace the existing span with a twin-tower suspension bridge after determining that the structure could not be retrofitted to meet seismic standards.

The north tower structure already looms more than 120 feet above the water -- which is close to the deck level of the new span -- and can now be glimpsed by motorists crossing the original span. The south tower is just now starting to rise above water level. Caltrans still expects to meet its late-2003 completion target.

Meanwhile, bids for the main span of a second Benicia-Martinez Bridge were opened in late September. Caltrans expects to complete the five-lane span (to carry northbound Interstate 680 traffic) by the fall of 2004.

San Mateo-Hayward BridgeSan Mateo-Hayward Bridge widening progresses (Photo: Caltrans)
Carquinez BridgeTower for the new Carquinez Bridge takes shape (Photo: Caltrans)
Benicia-Martinez BridgeRendering of the new Benicia-Martinez Bridge (on right) (Photo: Caltrans)

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