The bridge between San Francisco and Oakland (photo below) is rightfully considered a real miracle of construction. In the US, it is better known as the "Bay Bridge". It is not as popular with tourists as the Golden Gate, but it is also of great importance for the region.
Construction preconditions
In 1869, the United States was connected by a transcontinental railroad. At that time, San Francisco was considered the largest metropolis on the Pacific coast. From the built highway, its inhabitants were separated by the Gulf of St. Francis. Almost immediately after that, the city authorities began to promote the idea that it is necessary to build a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. San Francisco could otherwise lose its influence and status. Very quickly, a special committee was organized, whose members set about developing and discussing a plan for the construction of a steel line. There was still a lot of time left before the start of work, but the start was nevertheless made.
Design
After lengthy disputes and debates, a plan for the construction of the facility was prepared, according to which construction was to begin from Auckland. On its way, the structure had to pass through the so-called Goat Island, in which a tunnel was to be pierced. This idea was immediately criticized. The fact is that in this place the bay was unpredictable and quite deep. In this regard, the project, which was planned to build the San Francisco-Oakland bridge, was postponed for a long time.
City authorities returned to this idea only in the twenties of the last century. It was at this time that the beginning of the automobile boom in the United States fell. The level of development of engineering already allowed the use of a suspended structure, rather than supports, so the decision was made to use the old project with the appropriate changes. However, this time there was another problem. It was connected with the location of the base of the American naval forces on Kozlin Island. Only after the painful promotion of this issue in Congress, in early 1931, permission was received to begin construction. It should be noted that the base continued to operate on the island until 1977.
Building
The bridge between San Francisco and Oakland began to be built on July 9, 1933. The construction work was supervised by the then-famous architect Ralph Modjeski. The contractor was the American Bridge Company. During the construction of the Bay Bridge, all the advanced and most well-known building technologies were applied. In order to enablereliable installation of supports holding spans, engineers have developed a whole technological system. Its peculiarity was that it took into account the type of soil at the bottom of the bay and the depth. At the same time, the builders began to create a tunnel on the island, the length of which was 160 meters and a diameter of 23 meters. Thus, a world record was set at that time.
Opening
Construction work lasted more than three years. For their implementation, a record amount of concrete and steel was spent. On November 12, 1936, a solemn ceremony was held at which the bridge between San Francisco and Oakland was opened. She was visited by Governor Frank Mariam. After the introductory speech, he cut the “ribbon”, which was a gilded chain, with the help of gas welding. More than 120,000 vehicles crossed the building during the first day of its operation. In honor of the facility's opening, naval ships in the bay even staged a light show.
From the early days of the Bay Bridge, the fare on it was 65 cents. This was considered too high, and the City reduced the price to 25 cents after much criticism.
Today's state
The bridge between San Francisco and Oakland is a two-tier structure 7.2 kilometers long. It consists of two spans. The first of them connects San Francisco with Goat Island, the movement of cars on whichgoing through a 160-meter tunnel. The second part is thrown between the island and Auckland. Travel is paid. Its cost is 7 dollars. At the same time, it is paid only when moving from east to west. Both levels have five lanes for cars. Their total width is 17.5 m. It should be noted that earlier the lower part was used for the movement of trains, but the rails were dismantled in 1963. From that time on, cars move in a different direction in each tier.
An interesting feature
The height of the "Bay Bridge" at its highest point is 57 meters. Moreover, strong storms often occur in its location. When the weather is raging, the visibility here deteriorates significantly, therefore, having reached the central part of the structure, you may not see the ground. It is not surprising that some drivers are afraid to travel on it. Especially for such people, the bridge administration offers an original service. It consists in the fact that for a small amount of the order of several tens of dollars, a professional driver overtakes a car across the bridge between San Francisco and Oakland in any direction. The owner of the vehicle at this time simply changes to the passenger seat.
