Test Your Knowledge: Bay Bridge Fun Facts

September marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. To celebrate, here are 10 fun facts.
East span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge with the San Francisco skyline in the background.
Credit
Mark Jones

The new East Span officially opened on September 2, 2013, during Labor Day weekend.

Gavin Newsom, then-Lieutenant Governor, uses a blowtorch to cut the chain for the opening of the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Credit
Bill Hall

Since then, 480 million vehicles have crossed the span.

Aerial of traffic on the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Credit
Bill Hall

The original Bay Bridge opened on November 12, 1936.

Historic photo of a steam-powered ferry boat traveling on the bay near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, shortly after the bridge opening.
Credit
AC Transit

Including the bridge approaches in San Francisco and Oakland, the bridge is 8.4 miles long.

Aerial of the Oakland side and new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Credit
Bill Hall

The self-anchored suspension span tower stands 525 feet tall, and the vertical clearance beneath the bridge is 220 feet.

High-angle photo looking down at the water from the top of one of the towers of the new Bay Bridge East Span.
Credit
Barrie Rokeach

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is the region’s workhorse span, carrying more than a third of all traffic on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges.

Aerial of heavy nighttime traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Credit
Mark Jones

Considered a “lifeline” bridge, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is built to withstand a major earthquake or other natural disaster.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge at night during a lightning storm.
Credit
Noah Berger

On an average weekend day, nearly 400 cyclists and more than 150 pedestrians use the East Span’s bicycle/pedestrian path from Oakland to Yerba Buena Island.

Cyclists riding on the bicycle/pedestrian path on the East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Credit
Noah Berger

A new bicycle/pedestrian connection along Macalla Road recently opened, connecting the Bimla Rhinehart Vista Point on Yerba Buena Island to Treasure Island.

The view from Yerba Buena Island.
Credit
Gavin Lohry

Looking Ahead

MTC is looking to the future, developing plans to complete a "Bay Skyway" that will allow bikes and pedestrians to safely reach the Bay Bridge East Span path from more Oakland neighborhoods and establishing a new path from Yerba Buena Island to downtown San Francisco to create a car-free connection from shore to shore.

Learn more about the Bay Skyway.