This mega-wide bridge cost $6.3 billion (£3.8 billion) to build and spans an incredible 8.4 miles.
Oakland Bay Bridge, in San Francisco, California, is a complex of bridges connecting San Francisco and Oakland. It carries around 260,000 vehicles daily and has one of the longest spans in the US.
Construction of the bridge began in 1933 after Charles H. Purcell conceived the design. The American Bridge Company built the bridge before officially opening in November 1936, six months before the famous Golden Gate Bridge.
Oakland Bay Bridge has two sections that are about equal in length. The first is the western section known as the Willie L. Brown Jr. Bridge, named after the former mayor of San Francisco.
The eastern section collapsed in 1989 due to an earthquake. It had to be rebuilt and wasn’t reopened until 2013.
The recovery work cost a reported $6.5 billion (£ 5 billion) despite the initial budget of $250 million (£ 192 million).
The earthquake was caused by a slip in the San Andreas fault, causing a quake with an epicentre in Nisene Marks State Park.
The shaking started around 5 p.m., lasted for about 15 seconds, and had a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter Scale.
News of the earthquake made waves worldwide as it occurred during a live TV broadcast.
Today, the bridge has two crossings on either side of Yerba Buena Island.
The bridge’s western side between Yerba Buena and downtown San Francisco boasts two complete suspension spans connected at a centre anchorage.
The eastern crossing between Yerba Buena Island and Oakland has been reinforced with a double-decked crossing built after the earthquake.
It is a 321-foot-high viaduct and a 540-foot tunnel through Yerba Buena Island’s central hill.
The steel truss (triangle-shaped structures on the side of a bridge) viaduct spans over 1,100ft.
