Bay Farm Island Bridge - Alameda, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 37° 44.955 W 122° 14.161
10S E 567303 N 4178269
The Bay Farm Island Bridge is a 125 foot single leaf bascule bridge. It spans the San Leandro Bay inlet to the Oakland Estuary at Otis Drive on CA 61 in Alameda, California. It is the longest draw bridge in Alameda County.
Waymark Code: WMH95D
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/09/2013
Views: 4
The
Bay Farm Island Bridge is 963 feet long with a 125 foot movable section to allow sailboats to pass. Interestingly, a pedestrian-bike bridge immediately next to it is also a bascule drawbridge and controlled by the same operator. This is believed to be the only bicycle drawbridge in the country. Traffic gates and stop signs are present on both the auto and bike spans to stop traffic when needed.
The bridge has some unique characteristics. Instead of having the machinery room and operator tower close to or on the shore like the other bridges its has a huge concrete cofferdam in the channel that's contains the machinery rooms. counterweight, and operator tower. The bridge has three live load trunions instead of the two you normally see on a bascule type bridge. It also has dual machinery rooms that work in tandem. The bridge is powered by two 50 HP electric motors. The bridge contains four sets of brakes two main brakes and two backup brakes. The counterweight pit area is 50 Feet below the roadway surface. If your standing on the pit floor you’re approximately 25 feet under water.
This bridge opens about 360 times a year. It is also known as the San Leandro Bay Bridge and the Hwy 61 Alameda Bridge. The phone number at the bridge tower is (510) 522-2969.
Sources:
Alameda County Drawbridges
Bay Farm Bike Bridge