Bay Bridge West Span joint rehabilitation work continues

Caltrans recently completed two-thirds of the lower deck reconstruction (Phase 2) of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge West Span expansion joint rehabilitation project. 

The project began in August 2025, to rehabilitate the finger joints and reconstruction of selected bridge joints on both upper and lower decks. Construction for this project occurs mostly during nighttime hours and will be completed by June 2027.

Beginning Sunday, Phase 3 of this project begins. This phase includes removing the temporary platforms installed during Phase 2 and temporarily installing deck plates. The deck plates will be placed on the west end of the bridge towards San Francisco. Temporary deck plates will be placed between the W2-W3 towers. Prior to installing temporary deck plates, temporary platforms will be placed under the lower deck, reducing shipping channel clearance by 2 feet 8 inches once installed. The temporary deck plates will remain in place through May 2026.

Once complete, the project will: 

• Preserve and extend the life of the bridge structures
• Improve ride quality and driving comfort 
• Enhance overall freeway safety

The West Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is the oldest bridge in the Bay Area. This lifeline bridge is the Bay Area’s workhorse, and one of the nation’s busiest bridges. It plays a crucial role in supporting the Bay Area workforce, handling over 3 million cars per month, which is 1.5 times more vehicles per lane than any other bridge in the Bay Area. 

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) is responsible for keeping the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges structurally sound and in a state of good repair — an ongoing job. Bridge toll dollars from the more than 342,000 paid trips each day fund bridge maintenance and the Bay Area’s overall transportation system.

BATA in 2024 approved an asset management policy and a set of objectives for the continued maintenance and operation of the Bay Area’s state-owned toll bridges. 

The policy is based on four principles: focusing on people and safety; addressing maintenance and rehabilitation costs over each bridge’s entire life cycle; adopting a quantifiable approach to asset management; and promoting sustainability and ongoing enhancements to each span. 

The state-owned bridges are maintained through a partnership between Caltrans and BATA. BATA’s Capital Improvement Plan commits $2.3 billion for toll bridge upkeep through 2033.