San Francisco

San Francisco Bay Bridge Path Costly to Extend

Officials have approved spending up to $10 million to try to find an affordable way to extend the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge pedestrian path across the bridge's western span.

A Bay Area Toll Authority committee gave the go-ahead Wednesday to fund a study to come up with as many as four design alternatives for the path. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the study is also intended try to identify possible funding sources.

The decision comes after another study estimated the cost of a 2-mile path on both sides of the western span at around $500 million.

Officials say that is too expensive.

The bridge's new eastern span includes a pedestrian path. A similar path on the western span could allow people to bike or walk from Oakland to San Francisco.

The 15.5-foot-wide bridge path starts in Oakland and nearby Emeryville, heads gently up onto the bridge just past the toll plaza and runs along its south side, stopping short of Yerba Buena Island. It has one lane in each direction for bicyclists and an outside lane for walkers and has been widely used since opening more than a year ago. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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