Benicia-Martinez Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Benicia–Martinez Bridge refers to three parallel bridges which cross the Carquinez Strait
just west of Suisun Bay
; the spans link Benicia, California
to the north with Martinez, California
to the south. The two automobile bridge spans are usually referred to collectively as "The Benicia Bridge".
The 1.2 mile (1.9 km) deck truss bridge
opened in 1962 as a replacement for the last automotive ferry
service in the San Francisco Bay Area
. The 1962 bridge consists of seven 528 feet (160.9 m) spans which provide 138 feet (42.1 m) of vertical clearance, carrying four lanes of traffic in the southbound direction, as well as a pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists. A 1.7 mile (2.7 km) bridge was built alongside and opened on August 25, 2007 which carries five lanes of northbound traffic. The cost to construct the 1962 span was US$
25 million and US$1.3 billion to build the 2007 span. The bridge is part of Interstate 680
, itself a major transportation link, and connects several other heavily traveled freeways.
Between the two vehicle bridges is a railroad bridge owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad
. The railroad bridge was the first bridge at this location, built between April 1929 and October 1930 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is used by Union Pacific and BNSF
(trackage rights) freight train
s, as well as 36 scheduled Amtrak
passenger trains each weekday. Passenger trains include the long-distance trains California Zephyr
and Coast Starlight
as well as Capitol Corridor
inter-city commuter trains.
(ORT) configured in two zones. One ORT zone has two travel lanes and four shoulder lanes. The other ORT zone has one carpool travel lane with two shoulder lanes. This bridge is the first open road tolling facility in Northern California
and the first bridge with open road tolling in California
.
spans the waterway between the two vehicle bridges. The railroad bridge was built for the 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, built at Oakland, California
in 1879 and named 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. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak
also run here on Trackage rights
.
s and now carries four lanes of southbound traffic, as well as a bicycle
/pedestrian lane. The bridge construction also included 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 was retrofitted for open road tolling in order to encourage increased FasTrak usage. This required the removal of eight toll booths previously constructed.
The bridge is the largest lightweight concrete segmental bridge in California
. The estimated cost of building the bridge was $1.05 billion, the final cost was $1.3 billion. The bridge original estimated cost was around 300 million, it is noted for is large delay in construction and large over cost (over $1 billion). The new bridge opened to public traffic at 10:30pm on August 25, 2007.
Carquinez Strait
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay...
just west of Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
; the spans link Benicia, California
Benicia, California
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San...
to the north with Martinez, California
Martinez, California
Martinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
to the south. The two automobile bridge spans are usually referred to collectively as "The Benicia Bridge".
The 1.2 mile (1.9 km) deck truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
opened in 1962 as a replacement for the last automotive ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. The 1962 bridge consists of seven 528 feet (160.9 m) spans which provide 138 feet (42.1 m) of vertical clearance, carrying four lanes of traffic in the southbound direction, as well as a pathway for pedestrians and bicyclists. A 1.7 mile (2.7 km) bridge was built alongside and opened on August 25, 2007 which carries five lanes of northbound traffic. The cost to construct the 1962 span was US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
25 million and US$1.3 billion to build the 2007 span. The bridge is part of Interstate 680
Interstate 680 (California)
Interstate 680 is a north–south Interstate Highway in Northern California. It curves around the eastern cities of the San Francisco Bay Area from San Jose to Interstate 80 at Cordelia, bypassing cities along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay such as Oakland and Richmond while serving...
, itself a major transportation link, and connects several other heavily traveled freeways.
Between the two vehicle bridges is a railroad bridge owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. The railroad bridge was the first bridge at this location, built between April 1929 and October 1930 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is used by Union Pacific and BNSF
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
(trackage rights) freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s, as well as 36 scheduled Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger trains each weekday. Passenger trains include the long-distance trains California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
and Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
as well as Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...
inter-city commuter trains.
Current tolls
The Benicia–Martinez bridge toll plaza is located at the south end of the bridge. Tolls are only charged for northbound traffic. The toll plaza has nine lanes with toll booths and another nine lanes with open road tollingOpen road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...
(ORT) configured in two zones. One ORT zone has two travel lanes and four shoulder lanes. The other ORT zone has one carpool travel lane with two shoulder lanes. This bridge is the first open road tolling facility in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and the first bridge with open road tolling in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Adjacent railroad bridge
A railroad bridge owned by Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
spans the waterway between the two vehicle bridges. The railroad bridge was built for the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American 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
Port Costa, California
Port Costa is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 190 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
. The ferry, built at Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1879 and named the Solano
Solano (ferry)
thumb|right|300px|The ferry "Contra Costa", sister ship to "Solano" circa 1917The Solano was a large railroad ferryboat which operated across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California....
, 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. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
also run here on Trackage rights
Trackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
.
Northbound span
A newer bridge was constructed east of and parallel to the railroad bridge. It measures approximately 1.7 miles (2.7 km). The new bridge carries five lanes of northbound traffic. The older bridge underwent seismic retrofitSeismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
s and now carries four lanes of southbound traffic, as well as a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
/pedestrian lane. The bridge construction also included a new toll plaza with nine toll booths, two open road tolling
Open road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...
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 was retrofitted for open road tolling in order to encourage increased FasTrak usage. This required the removal of eight toll booths previously constructed.
The bridge is the largest lightweight concrete segmental bridge in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The estimated cost of building the bridge was $1.05 billion, the final cost was $1.3 billion. The bridge original estimated cost was around 300 million, it is noted for is large delay in construction and large over cost (over $1 billion). The new bridge opened to public traffic at 10:30pm on August 25, 2007.
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
- Benicia-Martinez Bridge Toll Plaza traffic lanes diagram
- Live Toll Prices for Benicia–Martinez Bridge