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Transactions Newsletter

December 2002 / January 2003

New Lanes and Toll Booths for San Mateo-Hayward Bridge
San Mateo-Hayward Bridge
After a press conference on the bridge, celebrants boarded buses to traverse the still-empty new lanes.(Photo: John Huseby, Caltrans)

Morning Back-ups at the Toll Plaza Fade
Federal, state and local dignitaries recently gathered near the eastern foot of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge to celebrate the opening of new lanes on the low-rise section of the span as well as the addition of new toll booths. The lane configuration of the trestle portion of the 7-mile bridge will now match that of the high-rise portion, easing commutes for the tens of thousands of travelers who cross this stretch of State Route 92 each day.

Jeff MoralesCaltrans Director Jeff Morales represented the governor at the press conference.(Photo: John Huseby, Caltrans)

Opening two months ahead of schedule, the widening project is the first of several major Bay Area bridge projects to be finished in a $1.6 billion program funded by Regional Measure 1 (RM 1) — the 1988 voter-approved ballot measure that raised tolls on the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges to a uniform $1 to pay for a package of transportation improvements. In its role as the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), MTC has a major stake in ensuring that RM 1 projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Before the widening project, the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge had four lanes (two in each direction) on the flat section and six lanes (three in each direction) on the high-rise section. The bridge now features three lanes all the way across in the westbound direction — with two new shoulders to ease the clearing of stalls and accidents. The widening in the eastbound direction will open to traffic in February 2003.

As part of the $200 million widening project, crews reconfigured the toll plaza, adding a net of two new toll booths, and extended the formerly two-mile-long westbound carpool lane by one mile eastward along the Hayward approach to the bridge.

Liz Figueroa, John Dutra, Tom LantosState Senator Liz Figueroa (left) and State Assemblyman John Dutra (center) joined with U.S. Representative Tom Lantos to cut the ribbon. (Photo: John Huseby, Caltrans)
“Immediately after the project opened, the notorious morning back-ups at the toll plaza started to ease up,” said MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger.

A new pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing of State Route 92 on the Hayward side of the bridge provides improved north-south access for the existing Bay Trail in that area. Portions of the trail between the San Mateo-Hayward and the Dumbarton bridges on the eastern side of the bridge also have been upgraded. Meanwhile, Caltrans started a bicycle shuttle across the bridge itself in August with funding from RM 1.

Improvements also have been made to the adjacent Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, which is operated by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, and to the bridge’s call boxes.

Transbay commuting will get easier still in March 2003 when AC Transit launches a bus route across the bridge as part of MTC’s Regional Express Bus Program (see story).

Originally built in 1967, the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge currently carries 87,000 vehicles daily (including both east- and westbound crossings), a figure that is expected to reach 95,000 by the year 2010.

Caltrans was responsible for the design and construction of
the bridge widening, while funding and oversight were provided by BATA.
— Réka Goode
San Mateo-Hayward BridgeThe configuration of the trestle will now match that of the high-rise portion, with three lanes in each direction. (Photo: John Huseby, Caltrans)

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