The San Francisco Oakland-Bay Bridge: The new and the old – but mostly the old …

Back last December, while traveling up north, I had the chance to spend the weekend with my sister who lives in Berkeley.  At the time, the north state was getting hit pretty hard by one of those ‘pineapple expresses’ as some call it (atmospheric river storms, if you’re a water geek like me).  There was a break in the seemingly incessant storms that had been pounding the area for days, so we went out to Treasure Island.

Bay Bridge Dec 2012 #2What I really wanted to see was the construction of the new section of the Bay Bridge.  If I lived up here, I would do a lot of photoblog posts on the bridge as the construction proceeds.  I am fascinated by bridge construction and I would love to learn more about it.

Bay Bridge under construction Dec 2012 #1And on the other side, one of my favorite cities I never spend time in, San Francisco.

San Francisco from Treasure Island Dec 2012 #4The Bay Bridge is really two bridges connected by Treasure Island in the middle.  The portion being replaced is the uglier cantilever portion; however, the other span of the bridge will remain intact.Bay Bridge Dec 2012 #2Bay Bridge Dec 2012 #3

Here are some older pictures I have of the construction.  This shot below is from an airplane in 2009.

Bay Bridge under construction aerial Mar 2009About 15 months later, I was crossing the bay on a tour and could see the bridge off in the distance.

Bay Bridge #4 July 2010Here’s a picture of the entire bridge with Treasure Island in the middle.

Bay Bridge #5 July 2010For a look at the Bay Bridge as it originally was, check out the Historic American Engineering Record: