The Bay Bridge cable investigation is part of the BATA-Caltrans team's never-ending responsibility to keep all seven of the Bay Area’s state-owned toll bridges in good working order.
BATA earlier this year approved an asset management policy and a set of objectives for the continued maintenance and operation of the 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 the toll bridge program.
BATA already has completed a comprehensive life-cycle analysis to guide maintenance and rehabilitation plans for the eastbound Carquinez Bridge and the southbound Benicia-Martinez Bridge, and is now working with Caltrans to prepare an updated assessment of all seven toll bridges’ maintenance needs over the next 50 years. This assessment is scheduled for completion next year.
In partnership with Caltrans, BATA since 2007 has invested $1.7 billion in toll funds on restoring the bridges and associated toll facilities, a figure that does not include the nearly $9 billion Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program completed in 2013. BATA’s Capital Improvement Plan targets another $1.9 billion for toll bridge upkeep through 2033.
With the Bay Bridge West Span, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (1956) and the eastbound Carquinez Bridge (1958) now senior citizens, and the original Benicia-Martinez (1962), San Mateo-Hayward (1967), Antioch (1978) and Dumbarton (1984) bridges into or approaching middle age, a growing share of toll dollars will be needed to keep these bridges in a state of good repair.
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