Facelift Coming for Bay Bridge Toll Plaza

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza will soon be undergoing cosmetic surgery to complement the design of the nine-month-old toll administration building and the bridge’s new East Span, which is scheduled to open to traffic in September 2013.

The $6.5 million project, which includes paving and lane-restriping work as well as the toll plaza facelift, will be financed through the Toll Bridge Rehabilitation program. Work is scheduled to begin the week of December 10 and continue for roughly six months. The renovations, to be performed by San Francisco-based contractor ProVen Management, will involve re-cladding all faces of the toll plaza canopy with pre-painted white aluminum panels, replacing all crash cushions on either side of the canopy, and painting the columns, toll booths and traffic islands the same shade of white used on the new East Span.

“The first thing motorists will notice is scaffolding being attached to the toll canopy roof,” explained BATA project manager Stephen Baker. “As the work proceeds in phases from the south end of the canopy to the north, it will require periodic lane closures between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to erect scaffolding. But no daytime lane closures will be necessary.”

Caltrans owns, operates and maintains the state highway system, including seven Bay Area toll bridges. BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the region's state-owned toll bridges. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.