Skip to main content

November Bay Area Part 4; Richmond-San Rafael Bridge/I-580

By
Given that I was heading to the Marin Headlands from Mount Diablo I didn't think it would be a good idea to try to slog through downtown San Francisco and have to pay two bridge tolls.  That being the case after finishing a route clinch of CA 24 I jumped on I-580 and headed to the northern end of San Francisco Bay to cross via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.


The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is a double deck truss bridge spanning 5.5 miles with a maximum clearance of 185 feet.  The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge connects Richmond in Contra Costa County and San Rafael in Marin County.  Construction on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge started in 1953 and was completed by 1956. The 1956 and 1957 state highway maps reflect the completion of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on the northern end of San Francisco Bay.

1956 State Highway Map

1957 State Highway Map

Prior to 1959 the route leading to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was part of unsigned Legislative Route Number 69 between US 101 and US 40.  It wasn't until 1959 that California State Route 17 was extended over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to meet US 101.  The change from an unsigned highway to CA 17 can be seen on the 1958 and 1959 State Highway Map City inserts.

1958 State Highway Map Insert

1959 State Highway Map Insert

By 1984 I-580 had been extended over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge replacing CA 17.  The I-580 designation was one of many of what I consider to be questionable Interstate Designations in the Bay Area which replaced previous state highways with preexisting route continuity.

Currently the toll for crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is $5 dollars for two axle vehicles.  After the tollbooths the official name for the structure the "John F McCarthy Memorial Bridge" can be observed.


The double decker structure of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is pretty striking.  It appears that the shoulder in theory could be utilized in the future for an additional lane if the need ever arose.  The  bridge is obviously exempt from Interstate Standards given there is not a shoulder on both sides of the roadway.






There is a decent overlook of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in Marin County at San Quentin Point.  Interesting to consider that one of the most infamous California State Prisons is literally within walking distance of the overlook.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

By
Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991.  Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73.  Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there.  But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio.  Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively.  Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards.  Currently, a $274 million widening project in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

By
As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit.  Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301.  This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history.  But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount.  When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

By
Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by.  Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s.  That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain.  Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot.  The milkshakes.  (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.)  Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal!  The fancy salad and hot foods bar.  Going to Rax was special.  Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight.  By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...
Post a Comment
Read more