San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

Bridge across San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, California, USA. The pin is the whole-bridge point near Yerba Buena Island; the eastern span runs from the island to Oakland.

At a glance

Source	Author	Role	In one line
The Weirdest Tool in Underwater Construction	Wesley Crump	subject	Pile-driving for the new eastern span, where bubble curtains proved themselves.
A Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges	Practical Engineering	subject	Used as the contrast case: two suspension spans joined at a huge central concrete anchorage.
An Engineer’s Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges	Practical Engineering	backdrop	Used as the foil to Millau: two suspension spans joined at a huge concrete anchorage in the middle, called an unavoidable cost of that construction.

The Weirdest Tool in Underwater Construction — Wesley Crump (2025)

Source: Original · Readwise highlight

In one case, a major section of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge’s deck collapsed, falling onto the lower deck like a trapdoor.

• Role: subject
• In the article: In the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake a section of the eastern span’s upper deck fell onto the lower deck, killing one person; it was repaired within a month, but Caltrans planned a replacement. Driving more than 250 large steel piles for the new span began in 2000, and bubble curtains were used to cut the underwater noise of each hammer blow.
• Why it matters: The article’s case study: the replacement project is where bubble curtains were tested and shown to work.

A Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges — Practical Engineering (2025)

Source: Original · Readwise highlight

Consider the Western side of the Bay Bridge, an admittedly impressive multi-span bridge connecting traffic from San Francisco to Oakland.

• Role: subject
• In the video: Used as the contrast case: two suspension spans joined at a huge central concrete anchorage.
• Why it matters: It supplies the counterexample that makes the Millau comparison land.

An Engineer’s Love Letter to Cable-Stayed Bridges — Practical Engineering (2025)

Source: Original · Readwise highlight

Consider the Western side of the Bay Bridge, an admittedly impressive multi-span bridge connecting traffic from San Francisco to Oakland.

• Role: backdrop
• In the article: Used as the foil to Millau: two suspension spans joined at a huge concrete anchorage in the middle, called an unavoidable cost of that construction.
• Why it matters: Serves as the counter-example showing the drawback of suspension bridges in multi-span use; minor beyond that contrast.