San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge

On July 9, 1933, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was officially started. This bridge was originally planned during the gold rush to try and help people get into San Francisco, but did not break ground until 1933. Ferries were a large part of Bay Area transportation, but cars were seen as the future of getting around. Local residents wanted a quick way to drive between the rapidly growing cities of San Francisco and Oakland. The bridge was completed shortly after in 1936, and immediately became the new favorite way of travel between the two cities.

Many people believed that the bridge would be impossible to build because of the location of the bridge. The rugged and turbulent waters of the San Francisco Bay were very harsh, as well as gusty winds that passed through. During construction of the bridge, engineers actually believed that the gusty winds posed more of a threat than earthquakes did (and the bridge was built between two major fault lines). Despite all of the doubts, the 8-mile long bridge was completed and stood as the largest and most expensive bridge of its time.

“Bay Bridge Info.” Bay Bridge History | Bay Bridge Info, www.baybridgeinfo.org/history

The Bay Bridge was far ahead of its time. People wanted a new way to travel too and from the big city of San Francisco, and with cars ultimately being the "future", people jumped on the idea of having a bridge built over the San Francisco Bay to help them get there. Although many believed the bridge was just a dream, through hard work and determination, the Bridge was built and stood as one of the largest of its time.

“History of the Bay Bridge – An Interactive Timeline.” Oakland North, oaklandnorth.net/bay-bridge-to-nowhere/history/.

This article shows an interactive timeline of the Bridge being built, as well as renovations of the bridge along the way. This bridge was not supposed to stand for as long as it did, as the technology during the time of actually building the bridge was nothing to what it is now. This website is a great way to see what techniques were used during the time of construction and how they made the bridge stay up for as long as it did.