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News Release

Toll Plaza Changes Coming to San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

Timing Change for Metering Lights, Delineators to Separate Traffic

OAKLAND, CA — As part of the agencies’ continuing effort to improve traffic flow in the region’s toll bridge corridors, Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) next week will be making several changes to the FasTrak® operations at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 6, FasTrak customers will notice more green cycles at the Bay Bridge metering lights, which will allow more vehicles to pass through the metering lights just past the toll plaza in lanes 7 through 11 and lanes 18 through 20 than in the adjacent cash lanes. The goal is to provide additional time savings for FasTrak customers. Carpools and buses will continue to pass uninterrupted through the toll area and metering lights, and the California Highway Patrol will be on hand to enforce carpool lane requirements.

In addition to the metering light adjustments, work crews this weekend will install flexible white delineators between the toll plaza and the metering lights to separate the FasTrak-only lanes from the adjacent cash lanes, and to prevent congestion caused by merging vehicles exiting the toll booths. These improvements are expected to help smooth the traffic flow in the toll plaza area, as well as across the bridge.

To complete the work, BATA and Caltrans will close some toll booths during the late evening hours on Saturday, Nov. 3 and Sunday, Nov. 4, as follows: Toll booths 5, 6 and 7 in the middle of the toll plaza will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday until about 12 a.m. Sunday. Toll booths 11, 12 and 13 will be closed from about 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday. Toll booths 16, 17, 18 and 19 on the right side of the toll plaza will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday, and from 8 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday. Toll booths 11, 12 and 13 may also be closed from 10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday. All lanes will be open for the Monday morning commute.

“Caltrans and BATA are working together to speed travel times and help ensure that commuters enjoy a safe and reliable trip across the entire Bay Bridge corridor,” said Caltrans District 4 Director and BATA Commissioner Bijan Sartipi. “These metering rate changes and FasTrak lane delineation improvements are intended to improve air quality by reducing emissions, and to improve peak-period travel times for all motorists—whether they pay their tolls with FasTrak, with cash, or cross toll-free as part of a carpool.”

The software governing the timing of the Bay Bridge metering lights may be adjusted according to traffic conditions. Caltrans and BATA will be conducting real-time testing by driving the corridor over a period of time to make adjustments to the flow rate as necessary.

“Congestion at the Bay Bridge will never be eradicated,” explained Marin County Supervisor and BATA Commissioner Steve Kinsey. “ But people have been telling us we need to make some more changes. We’ve listened, and we’re making adjustments. This is a trial period and we’re hopeful that we can provide quicker, safer and more reliable commutes for people traveling into San Francisco.”

The toll plaza improvements are part of a continuing effort to encourage more Bay Area motorists to use FasTrak to pay their tolls electronically without having to stop at the toll booths. FasTrak can be used in all lanes at all Bay Area toll plazas, including at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Caltrans owns, operates and maintains the state highway system, including seven Bay Area toll bridges. BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the region's state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.