Bay Area Bridges, Number Two

Sailing the San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bays over the summer, we went under numerous bridges.  In Bridge-Blog Number One, we showed two telling shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Here we feature the billion-dollar plus eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  The building of this bridge was a bureaucratic saga of epic dimensions.  The construction faced constant cost overruns, and at one point legislators proposed that the gorgeous suspension bridge design be abandoned in favor of a simple highway bridge such as the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges.

Fortunately for all of us, the cost hawks lost and the original design survived. The aesthetics of the bridge are astounding.  The eastern span rightfully has taken its place among the most beautiful bridges in the world on a par with such icons as the Millau Viaduct in France and our own Bixby Bridge, both ranked in the top ten of most beautiful bridges.  The Eastern Span is too new to be ranked, but in my mind it is right up there.

The two photos and video that accompany this description were shot on a beautiful day in September, a bit after the horrendous heat wave and the invasion of smoke into the Bay Area from the Sonoma and Napa fires had turned the entire area into a version of the shores of the River Styx.  Fortunately for us, the air had cleared, and the temperature had returned to a comfortable range, and we were headed to Avila Cove on Angel Island for a picnic.  It is hard to experience a day better than that.

Please check out the video.  It takes you on the boat all the way under the bridge emerging on the north side.  It is great sight.  The land mass to the left is Treasure Island.

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More bridges to come.