Carquinez Bridge
| Carquinez Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Carquinez Bridge in 2008: (from closest to furthest) a 2003 suspension bridge and the 1958 cantilever bridge
|
|
| Coordinates | 38°03′39″N 122°13′33″W / 38.0608°N 122.2257°WCoordinates: 38°03′39″N 122°13′33″W / 38.0608°N 122.2257°W |
| Carries | 8 lanes of  I-80, pedestrians and bicycles. |
| Crosses | Carquinez Strait |
| Locale | Crockett and Vallejo, California, U.S. |
| Official name | Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge (suspension bridge only) |
| Other name(s) | Zampa Bridge, Vallejo Bridge |
| Owner | Caltrans |
| Maintained by | Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority |
| ID number | 28+0352 (2003 span), 23+0015L (1927 span), 23+0015R (1958 span) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design |
Cantilever bridge (Eastbound) Suspension bridge (Westbound) |
| Total length | 3,465 feet (1,056 m) or 0.66 miles (1.06 km) (suspension bridge), 3,300 feet (1,000 m) (cantilever bridge) |
| Width | 84 feet (26 m) (suspension deck), 52 feet (16 m) (cantilever deck) |
| Height | 410 feet (120 m) (suspension tower) |
| Longest span | 2,390 feet (730 m) (suspension span) |
| Clearance below | 148 feet (45 m) (suspension bridge), 140 feet (43 m) (cantilever bridge) |
| History | |
| Opened | May 21, 1927 (original span) 1958 (eastbound) November 11, 2003 (westbound) |
| Closed | September 4, 2007 (original span) |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | Cars (eastbound only) $5.00 (cash or FasTrak), $2.50 (carpools during peak hours, FasTrak only) |
The Carquinez Bridge refers to parallel bridges spanning the Carquinez Strait, forming part of Interstate 80 between Crockett and Vallejo, in the U.S. state of California. The name originally referred to a single cantilever bridge built in 1927, helping to form a direct route between San Francisco and Sacramento. A second parallel cantilever bridge was completed in 1958 to deal with the increased traffic. Later, seismic problems of the 1927 span led to the construction and 2003 opening of a replacement: a suspension bridge officially called the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge. Currently, the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge carries westbound traffic from Vallejo to Crockett, and the 1958 cantilever span carries eastbound traffic.
The first regular crossing of the Carquinez Strait began in the mid-1800s as a ferry operated between the cities of Benicia and Martinez, six miles upstream from the bridge site. Auto service started on this route in 1913. A train ferry operated between Benicia and Porta Costa from 1879 until 1930 when a rail bridge opened. Ferry service at the site of the bridge started in 1913 by the Rodeo-Vallejo Ferry Company.
The original steel cantilever bridge was designed by Robinson & Steinman and dedicated on May 21, 1927. Prior to this, crossing the Carquinez Strait necessitated the use of ferries. The bridge cost $8 million to build. It was the first major crossing of the San Francisco Bay and a significant technological achievement in its time.
Upon its completion, the span became part of the Lincoln Highway. This historic transcontinental roadway's original alignment, like the Transcontinental Railroad that preceded it nearly sixty years earlier, chose to avoid crossing the Carquinez Strait entirely. The preferred option, given the engineering limitations of the day, was to skirt around the Delta by going south from Sacramento through , then proceeding west across the San Joaquin River and over the Altamont Pass, and finally reaching Oakland from the south (a route that would later become U.S. Route 50 and ultimately Interstates 5, 205, and 580). This seemingly circuitous route, several miles longer and traversing a rather formidable mountain pass, was nevertheless preferable to the even more formidable prospect of bridging the Carquinez Strait, a deep channel with strong currents and frequent high winds. For decades, building a bridge here was considered prohibitively expensive and technologically risky. Once the bridge was built however, driving from Sacramento to the East Bay became much more direct. The Carquinez Bridge provided a welcome alternative route from the Central Valley to the Bay Area, one that no longer required loading one's vehicle onto and off of a ferry. With the bridge completed, the Lincoln Highway was realigned to cross the Sacramento River, then proceed southwest through Davis and Vallejo, across the Carquinez, and along the shores of the San Pablo and San Francisco bays to Richmond and Oakland (eventually U.S. Route 40 and ultimately Interstate 80).
...
Wikipedia