Bay Bridge

When the Big One strikes the Bay Area you'll want to be on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, set to open next year. Its flexibility will allow it to ride the earthquake.

Adding a pedestrian/bike lane to the 'west span' of the Bay Bridge won't come on the cheap: $550 million is the current estimate. The east span lane, from Yerba Buena Island to Oakland, will be included in the new bridge due to open in late 2013.

A UC Berkeley traffic study shows dramatic reductions in travel time for all Bay Bridge traffic after tolls were restructured July, 2010, applying the region's first congestion charge and charging half price for carpools, ending their free passage.

If a San Mateo County agency has its way, congestion pricing will be applied to two toll bridges to create additional revenue and reduce congestion as was done successfully on the S.F./Oakland Bay Bridge last July - but there are major differences.

Peak period pricing on the Bay Bridge, enacted by the regional Bay Area Toll Authority on July 1, is the first application of congestion pricing for driving in the Bay Area. Officials in San Francisco feel the outcome is favorable for their project.

KALW's transportation reporter takes a ride across the Bay Bridge during the peak period to experience the new travel patterns brought on by the Bay Area's first experience with congestion pricing - she interviews a UC specialist in human behavior.

July 1 marked the $2 premium, commuter toll on the Bay Bridge, as well as new first-time charges for car pools on all Bay Bridges, and increased tolls ($5) on seven state-owned bridges. Congestion on Bay Bridge reduced by half during morning peak.

Where the Bay Bridge touches down in San Francisco, a new plan is in the works to turn a motley collection of underused spaces into a vibrant park.

The Bay Area's first experience in peak-hour road tolling starts July 1. At 10 am, the Bay Bridge toll decreases to $4 from the $6 commute toll that starts at 5 am - will motorists intentionally slow to save $2 as they approach the tolls at 10 AM?

First proposed in 1993, a higher peak toll may finally be applied to the Bay Bridge: $6 would be charged 5-10am and 3-7pm, while $4 charged off-peak. Weekends will see a $5 toll, the same as the other state-owned regional bridges if approved 1/27.

UC Berkeley urban design students have proposed new, far-fetched proposals for reusing the soon-to-be-obsolete span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. With space at a premium in the Bay Area, would a hotel, park or neighborhood actually work?

SF Public Press and McSweeney's Panorama newspaper bring a series of in-depth reports on the construction of the new Bay Bridge, focusing on why the project has become so expensive.

The Bay Area Toll Authority is recommending carpools on the Bay Bridge be tolled, along with several other changes like different rates for off-peak hours and a steep increase on truck tolls.

BART beat previous records for ridership on Weds. after a piece of the Bay Bridge that was fixed over the Memorial Day weekend failed.

This week's wind storm has highlighted problems that remain in the Bay Bridge's construction.

Architect Ronald Rael proposes preserving the discarded span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge and turning it into a park and mixed-use development, in the spirit of NY's High Line.

This Labor Day, a 300-ft. section of the east span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge will be cut out and pushed aside, connecting to a new detour that will facilitate the switch from a double-decker configuration to a side-by-side one.