The High Street Bridge is a double-leaf bascule drawbridge spanning 296 feet of the

Oakland Estuary The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland, California, Oakland and Alameda, California, Alameda and the Alameda (island), Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its weste ...

in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It links the cities of

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

and

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santi ...

. The bridge is opened approximately 1,400 times annually and carries an average of 26,000 vehicles per year. It was built when the Oakland Estuary was trenched, converting Alameda from a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

to an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

. The High Street Bridge is one of the four bridges and two tunnels that allow access to Alameda.

History

The estuary was originally spanned by an iron

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

, completed in 1894 by the Harrison Bridge Company for $24,747. In May 1901, a fire destroyed the swing span and part of the approaches, which were rebuilt the following year. Three bridges were built by the federal government in 1901 at High Street (road), Park Street (road), and Fruitvale Avenue (combined road and rail) in exchange for permission and rights-of-way to dredge the channel between San Antonio Creek and

San Leandro Bay San Leandro Bay is a body of water in the San Francisco Bay. It is connected to the Oakland Estuary today, but was originally separated by land which formerly connected Alameda with Oakland. It is located along the east of the Oakland Interna ...

. After the three bridges were completed, they were left closed to allow road and rail traffic to pass, but never opened for marine traffic. The northern approach to the High Street Bridge was destroyed by a fire in May 1909, which also damaged the bridge; repairs were performed late in 1909. After pressure was applied by Senator

George Clement Perkins George Clement Perkins (August 23, 1839 – February 26, 1923) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Perkins served as the 14th governor of California from 1880 to 1883, ...

and Congressman Joseph R. Knowland, the federal government turned the bridges over to

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...

in 1910, conditioned on the county assuming responsibility for maintenance, staffing, and operation. The present bridge was designed by the County of Alameda Surveyors Office and constructed under the Federal WPA Program in 1939 at a cost of $750,000. It opened in December 1939. The bascule bridge was modernized in 1981 and 1996. The 1981 project included upgrades to electrical systems and motors; the 1996 project completely repainted the bridge, removing over of lead-based paint.

Design

The bridge normally opens both leaves to 45°, which accommodates most marine traffic; the maximum opening for each leaf is 76°. It is designed to safely operate in wind speeds of up to . Each leaf may be operated independently, allowing marine traffic to pass in case one leaf is inoperable. Each leaf has a main motor using electricity from Alameda Municipal Power, and a emergency motor for each leaf is powered from

Pacific Gas and Electric The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered at Kaiser Center, in Oakland, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 million households in the norther ...

; using counterweights, full operation is possible using emergency power.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Bridges in Alameda County, California Bascule bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1939 Road bridges in California Buildings and structures in Alameda, California Buildings and structures in Oakland, California Steel bridges in the United States 1939 establishments in California