Crowdsourcing Ideas for Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Replacement

The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, connecting the East Bay and the North Bay near San Francisco, is 63 years old, but a local elected official is thinking about how to replace it.

1 minute read

December 5, 2019, 8:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Will Houston reports from the San Francisco Bay Area:

What should a new Richmond-San Rafael Bridge look like? Should it only carry cars or should bikes, walkers and even trains be able to cross it?

These are the questions state Assemblyman Marc Levine is posing to Bay Area residents and commuters as part of a new website and social media campaign he launched centered on replacing the 63-year-old bridge.

Levine has created the TheRichmondBridge.com website to collect opinions about the potential replacement for the bridge, justifying the need as thinking long term about the needs of commuters, and saying "nothing lasts forever."

The Bay Area Toll Authority and Caltrans are conducting a study, expected for completion in March 2020, of the future of the bridge. Estimates about the expected price of maintenance for the bridge over the course of the next decade have reached $900 million. A new bridge could cost in the neighborhood of $8.2 billion, according to a recent Caltrans proposal [pdf] to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 in The Mercury News

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.