History of San Mateo's Bridges
Posted by: 
hotshoe
N 37° 34.494 W 122° 18.031
10S E 561765 N 4158880
At top of Seal Point Park's hill are environmental artworks and interpretive signs
Waymark Code: WM61PG
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 03/17/2009
Views: 5
Text from the sign:
"In 1923, the cities of San Mateo, Burlingame,
and Hillsborough began planning for a bridge
to link the San Francisco Bay peninsula cities with East
Bay and Central Valley communities. Even after the
Dumbarton Bridge opened in 1927, these municipalities
continued pursuing construction of a bridge for the
San Mateo area.
In 1928, bridge construction began. Cement for the piles
and deck slabs for the bridge came from Redwood City.
Oyster shells dredged from the Bay in the Redwood City
area were also used as part of the cement mix. In 1929,
after only fourteen months of construction, the bridge was
finished ahead of schedule. The CIty of San Mateo then
celebrated the opening of the new $7.5 million / mile-long
"San Francisco Bay Toll Bridge". During that period of
time, it was considered the longest continual vertical lift
highway bridge in the world.
During the 1930s, fewer than 2,000 vehicles crossed the
bridge daily. The number of vehicles crossing the bridge
increased to 9,000 within the next 20 years, prompting civic
leaders to consider the need for a new bridge. In 1967,
construction for the new San Mateo Bridge was completed.
The new bridge did away with the need for a drawbridge
since it was constructed high to allow ships to pass under."
Like the other interesting signs in this series in the park, this sign is printed in pale type on green background, making it prettier to look at but harder to read. The transcription of the sign is my own, as are any mistakes.
Group that erected the marker: CIty of San Mateo
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Seal Point Park, East Third Avenue
San Mateo, CA USA
94401
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