BATA: Keeping Bay Area Bridges Safe

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) — in partnership with Caltrans – works to keep the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges structurally sound and in a state of good repair.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, the Antioch Bridge, the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, the Carquinez Bridge, the Dumbarton Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge are regularly evaluated for safety. Together, BATA and Caltrans undertake necessary repairs to keep the bridges in safe working order.

BATA collects bridge tolls and uses that money to fund major projects that support bridges, roads and the Bay Area transportation network. BATA also funds critical projects voted on by the public (including Regional Measure 1, Regional Measure 2 and Regional Measure 3). This includes highway and transit improvements, and more.

The Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program was established in 1996 to enable California toll bridges to meet the latest seismic safety standards and required the retrofit or replacement of state-owned toll and highway bridges. The program was completed in 2013, with all seven of the Bay Area’s state-owned toll bridges (plus two more in Southern California) certified for seismic safety by the Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee. The oversight committee itself concluded after demolition of the original Bay Bridge East Span was completed.

As for less extreme events, BATA must maintain more than 11 million square feet of bridge deck and over 22 million square feet of painted surfaces across the seven bridges. In 2023, there were more than 124 million vehicle trips across the seven BATA bridges. This leads to a certain amount of predictable wear and tear, for which there is a regular cycle of inspections and maintenance.

Weather and environmental conditions play a role, too. Steel corrosion is one of the biggest threats to the bridges, a risk magnified by exposure to the marine environment. A fresh coat of paint on the bridge towers and superstructure helps preserve the steel’s structural integrity.

To ensure the integrity of the bridges, other key parts are regularly repaired or replaced, including the main cables, joints, fenders, deck overlays, concrete elements and electrical/mechanical systems such as substations and power cables.

Depending on the type of materials (wood, paint, concrete, metal, electrical), these components typically have a functional lifespan of between 10 and 75 years. In other words: the task of bridge maintenance is cyclical, and the job is never done! We thank the hardworking bridge maintenance crews who toil year-round to keep the Bay Area’s bridges safe.