San Rafael Bridge
| Richmond–San Rafael Bridge | |
|---|---|
The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge from its western terminus
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| Coordinates | 37°56′05″N 122°26′02″W / 37.9347°N 122.4338°WCoordinates: 37°56′05″N 122°26′02″W / 37.9347°N 122.4338°W |
| Carries | 4 lanes (2 WB on upper level, 2 EB on lower) of  I-580
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| Crosses | San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay |
| Locale | San Rafael, California and Richmond, California |
| Official name | Richmond–San Rafael Bridge or John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Richmond Bridge San Rafael Bridge |
| Named for | John F. McCarthy |
| Owner | Caltrans |
| Maintained by | Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority |
| ID number | 28 0100 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Double-Decked Dual Cantilever bridge with Pratt Truss Approach |
| Total length | 29,040 ft (5.500 mi; 8.85 km) |
| Longest span | 1,070 feet (330 m) cantilever structure |
| Number of spans |
77 in total, consisting of: |
| Piers in water | 70 |
| Clearance below | 185 feet (56 m) (main channel) 135 feet (41 m) (secondary channel) |
| History | |
| Designer | Norman Raab |
| Constructed by | Gerwick—Kiewit Joint Venture (substructure) Kiewit—Soda—Judson Pacific-Murphy Joint Venture (superstructure) |
| Construction begin | March 1953 |
| Construction cost | US$62,000,000 (equivalent to $546,200,000 in 2016) |
| Opened | September 1, 1956 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic |
66,800 (2011) |
| Toll | Cars (westbound only) $5.00 (cash or FasTrak), $2.50 (carpools during peak hours, FasTrak only) |
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77 in total, consisting of:
19 girder spans (west)
14 truss spans (west)
3 spans (western cantilever)
9 truss spans (center)
3 spans (eastern cantilever)
12 truss spans (east)
66,800 (2011)
67,800 (2012)
72,300 (2013)
75,600 (2014)
The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge (also officially named the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge) is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA. Officially named after California State Senator John F. McCarthy, it bridges Interstate 580 from Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west. It opened in 1956, replacing ferry service by the Richmond–San Rafael Ferry Company.
Proposals for a bridge were advanced in the 1920s, preceding the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1927, Roy O. Long of The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge, Incorporated, applied for a franchise to construct and operate a private toll bridge. The proposed 1927 Long bridge would have been a steel suspension bridge, carrying a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide roadway for a distance of 14,600 feet (4,500 m) at an estimated construction cost of US$12,000,000 (equivalent to $165,400,000 in 2016). The bridge would afford a maximum vertical clearance of 135 feet (41 m) with a 1,200-foot (370 m) main span. Charles Derleth, Jr. was selected as the consulting engineer, after having served in that role for the recently completed Carquinez Bridge. The Long bridge would have spanned San Pablo Bay between Point Orient (in Contra Costa County) to just below McNear's Point (in Marin County), and Long was granted the franchise in February 1928 by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
A competing proposed bridge also came out in 1927, from Charles Van Damme of the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company. The 1927 Van Damme bridge would have carried a 27-foot (8.2 m) wide roadway for a distance of 19,000 feet (5,800 m) at an identical estimated construction cost of US$12,000,000 (equivalent to $165,400,000 in 2016). It would have spanned San Pablo Bay from Castro Point (Contra Costa County) to Point San Quentin (Marin County), approximately the same routing as the eventually completed 1956 bridge. Although the 1927 Long bridge had been granted a franchise in February 1928, Van Damme subsequently petitioned to reopen the case, since the ferry company owned the land at the proposed eastern terminus and therefore should have been favored in the franchise selection process. Also, since the ferry company's franchise rights were not set to expire until the 1950s, Long's 1927 bridge cost would have increased to reimburse losses to ferry revenues. Soon after winning the franchise rights, Long approached Van Damme with an offer to buy the Richmond-San Rafael Ferry Company for US$1,250,000 (equivalent to $17,400,000 in 2016).
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