Skip to main content

California State Route 84 west from Interstate 880 over the Dumbarton Bridge

On a recent Bay Area trip I took California State 84 west from Interstate 880 over San Francisco Bay via the Dumbarton Bridge.


The Dumbarton Bridge is a 1.63 mile structure crossing San Francisco Bay near Dumbarton Point.  The Dumbarton Bridge is the southernmost bridge in San Francisco Bay and the shortest.  The current Dumbarton Bridge was completed by 1982 in a four-lane configuration and was expanded to six-lanes by 1989.

The original Dumbarton Bridge opened in 1927 and was built private money.  The 1927 Dumbarton Bridge was similar to the 1929 San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in that it featured a causeway structure and a center vertical lift span.  Like the 1929 San Mateo-Hayward Bridge the 1927 Dumbarton Bridge was purchased by the California Division of Highways in 1951.  The 1927 Dumbarton Bridge became part of Legislative Route 107 which already existed on both ends of the structure since 1933.  Said change to LRN 107 can be observed by comparing the 1951 State Highway Map to the 1952 edition.

1951 State Highway Map

1952 State Highway Map

LRN 107 and the 1927 Dumbarton Bridge would become part of CA 84 during the California Highway Renumbering of 1964.

1963 State Highway Map

1964 State Highway Map

The 1927 Dumbarton Bridge was mostly demolished in 1984 but a small portion of the eastern approach near in Newark exists as a fishing pier.

My approach to CA 84 west and the Dumbarton Bridge were from I-880 south.





CA 84 west enters the City Limits of Newark (Alameda County) west of I-880.  CA 84 west to the Dumbarton Bridge toll is a freeway grade signed at 65 MPH.


Heading west on CA 84 it is apparent some of the overhead signage has seen better days.


Tolls for the Dumbarton Bridge are collected on westbound CA 84 and are $6 dollars cash for a two axle vehicle.  The last Exit before the Dumbarton Bridge toll is at Thorton Avenue/Paseo Padre Parkway.








West of the Dumbarton Bridge toll the route of CA 84 largely falls below freeway standards and has a poor surface quality.  The speed limit over the Dumbarton Bridge is 55 MPH.









As the Dumbarton Bridge rises over San Francisco Bay it enters San Mateo County and Menlo Park.


The Dumbarton Bridge ends in Menlo Park.  CA 84 continues west over the San Cruz Mountains to CA 1 on the Pacific Ocean.  After crossing the Dumbarton Bridge I turned south on CA 109 on University Avenue.










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Winnemucca to the Sea Highway

The Winnemucca to the Sea Highway was conceived as an idea to establish a continuous, improved route branching from what was then US Highway 40 (now I-80) in Winnemucca, Nevada to the Pacific Coast in Crescent City, California . This highway was to span 494 miles as it crossed through deserts, mountains and forests on its way to the Pacific Ocean. Community leaders from points along this proposed highway formed the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway Association, which worked with state and local governments to obtain funding for the planning, construction and upgrade of the highway. The original proposal was to create one highway, numbered 140, which was to be applied to the complete route as the parent major US highway was coast-to-coast US-40, the Victory Highway. However, this idea never fully came to fruition. Currently, a traveler driving on the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway actually follows seven different highway numbers, which are US 95, NV 140, OR 140, US 395, OR 62, I-5, US 19...

Petroleum Club Road (former California State Route 33 and US Route 399 past the Lakeview Gusher)

Petroleum Club Road is an approximately 5.3-mile rural highway located in the Sunset Oil Field of western Kern County.  This corridor was constructed as a frontage road of the Sunset Railroad and would be the site of the Lakeview Gusher in 1910.  Petroleum Club Road was the original alignment of California State Route 33 and US Route 399 between 1934-1938.  In 1938 the West Side Highway was constructed west of Lakeview Gusher and still serves as the current alignment of California State Route 33.   Part 1; the history of Petroleum Club Road Petroleum Club Road is the original highway which linked the oil communities of Maricopa and Taft.  Both cities were developed around the early boom of the Sunset Oil Field.  The early Sunset Oil Field can be seen centered along Cienega Canyon Road southwest of Buena Vista Lake in Township 11 North, Range 23 West on the 1898 Kern County Surveyors map .  In 1901 Post Office Service would be established at the Su...

California State Route 166

The final route I took this past Wednesday was California State Route 166. CA 166 is a 96 mile east/west highway stretching from CA 1 in Guadalupe to CA 99 near Bakersfield.  CA 166 is mostly a rural stretch of state highway which crosses the Coast Ranges largely following the course of the Cuyama River.  CA 166 for the most part is a highly scenic highway, especially the portion following the Cuyama River.  CA 166 is well graded enough for a fun drive as it traverses through Santa Barbara Couny, San Luis Obispo County, and Kern County. I started my trip on CA 166 from CA 1 in Guadalupe heading east towards Santa Maria. CA 166 crosses a series of railroad tracks as the route begins eastward on Main Street towards Santa Maria. CA 166 between Guadalupe and Santa Maria is signed as a 6 mile long Safety Corridor.  The road quality on Main Street is incredibly poor and choppy in this segment which is likely due to the heavy agriculture truck traffic....