Benicia-Martinez Bridge
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This article or section contains information about a bridge currently under construction. It may contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change dramatically as construction progresses and new information becomes available. |
| Benicia-Martinez Bridge | |
 Aerial view of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge |
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| Official name | George Miller Jr. Bridge |
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| Carries | 6 lanes of I-680 |
| Crosses | Carquinez Strait |
| Locale | Martinez, California and Benicia, California |
| Design | Truss bridge |
| Longest span | 528 feet (160.93 m) (7 spans) |
| Total length | 1.2 miles (1.9 km) |
| Clearance below | 138 feet (42.06 m) |
| Toll | $4.00 (northbound) (FasTrak) |
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The Benicia-Martinez Bridge, also known as the George Miller Jr. Bridge, crosses the Carquinez Strait, linking Benicia, California, USA in the north with Martinez, California to the south. The 1.2 miles (1.9 km) deck truss bridge opened in 1962 as a replacement to the last automotive ferry service in the San Francisco Bay Area. The bridge consists of seven 528-foot spans which provide 138 feet of vertical clearance, carrying three lanes of traffic in each direction. The cost to construct the bridge was US$25 million. The bridge is located along Interstate 680.
The Benicia-Martinez bridge toll plaza is located at the north end of the bridge. Tolls are only charged for northbound traffic. The toll plaza has nine toll booths arranged in a split configuration. Two "mini" toll plazas with two toll booths each are located several hundred feet to the north of the main plaza. The administration building is located on the right side of the plaza. As with the other toll plazas in the San Francisco Bay Area, the toll booths are numbered starting from the side on which the administration building is located. Currently, booth #6 is dedicated to FasTrak users; all other booths accept toll payment by both cash and FasTrak. Carpools are permitted free passage in booths #4 and #5 during weekday morning and afternoon commute periods.
There is also an adjacent railroad bridge owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad bridge was built by Southern Pacific Railroad between 1928 and 1930. Prior to the railroad bridge's opening in 1930, the railroad used a ferry between Benicia and Port Costa, California. The ferry was named the Solano and was built at Oakland, California in 1879. The Solano was the world's largest train ferry. In 1914, a second ferry named the Contra Costa was built. The ferries ended service in 1930 with the completion of the railroad bridge.
A new bridge is currently being built east of and parallel to the railroad bridge. It will measure approximately 1.7 miles (2.7 km). The new bridge will carry five lanes of northbound traffic. The existing bridge is undergoing seismic retrofits and will carry four lanes of southbound traffic, as well as a bicycle/pedestrian lane. The bridge construction also includes a new toll plaza with nine toll booths, two open road tolling lanes and one carpool lane at the south end of the bridge, although tolls will continue to be charged only for northbound traffic.
The new toll plaza is currently being retrofitted for open road tolling in order to encourage increased FasTrak usage. This requires removal of eight toll booths already constructed. This project will create the first open-road tolling facility in Northern California.
Once the bridge is completed, it will be the largest lightweight concrete segmental bridge in California. The estimated cost of building the bridge is $1.05 billion, although technical difficulties may increase that figure by $130 million to $1.18 billion. The project is estimated to be completed in October 2007, according to Caltrans.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- California Dept. of Transportation: Benicia-Martinez Bridge History & Information
- Caltrans' New Benicia-Martinez Bridge project page
- Earth Mechanics Inc. Benicia bridge project page - EMI is the geotechnical engineer for the new bridge
- Benicia-Martinez Bridge may cost millions more - Contra Costa Times article about technical difficulties
| San Francisco Bay Area Toll Bridges | |
|---|---|
| North-South direction | |
| Golden Gate Bridge - Carquinez Bridge - Benicia-Martinez Bridge - Antioch Bridge | |
| East-West direction | |
| Richmond-San Rafael Bridge - Bay Bridge - San Mateo-Hayward Bridge - Dumbarton Bridge | |
| Crossings of the Carquinez Strait | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream Antioch Bridge  |
Benicia-Martinez Bridge |
Downstream Carquinez Bridge  |
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