The bay area is home to a handful of bridges. The outside world knows two, the Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge. I would like to introduce you to another one: the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge that connects the city of Richmond in the Contra Costa County and San Rafael of Marin County.
The sign says Richmond Bridge and that’s what the San Rafael side calls it. It is offiically called John F. McCarthy Bridge. I don’t know who he is honestly. But on the Richmond side, we call this bridge San Rafael Bridge. It is a mystery why on our side we call it San Rafael Bridge and on the other side they call it Richmond Bridge.
The bridge is double decker. The upper level is San Rafael Bound. My husband and I often cross this bridge to go to Point Reyes National Seashore.
This is a closer look at the upper deck. The bridge measures 5.5 miles, and just finished some retrofit work.
This is the shot on the lower deck on the way back to Richmond.
This is taken from Point Molate on the Richmond side looking southwest toward Marin County. San Quentin Prison just beyond the bridge on the left side when San Rafael bound.
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FRANKLY MY DEAR....... 
Your EG Tour Guide
February 23, 2009 at 8:29 pm
That is a very long bridge. I had no idea it spanned 5.5 miles!
shaker
February 23, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Very impressive !
Arija
February 23, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I love bridges, each one a transition between this and that. Great photos.
sylvia
February 23, 2009 at 8:54 pm
What a bridge!! and what terrific shots! Thanks so much! I love bridges!
Fishing Guy
February 23, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Ewok: Wow; a double decker bridge. That is really a neat one. The blows any bridge I have far away, nicely done.
babooshka
February 23, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Well I do like a bridge image. This goes on forever and makes my bridge here look so tiny.
maryt/theteach
February 23, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Whoa, ewok, a bridge that runs for 5.5 miles… looong bridge! Ha! Great pix! When the church that I posted is finished being renovated I will post the church for you! 🙂
SandyCarlson
February 23, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I love these shots. The elegant lines of a bridge are just so nice to look at.
Funny about the naming thing, eh? Made me think of the way Civil War battles go by different names North and South. Nothing like driving school kids crazy!
imac
February 23, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Super bridge.
Keith
February 23, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Living in Redding, I crave seeing the Bay Area. I love passing the bridges when taking the Amtrak to San Jose. I am sure this state has birthed, and watched die, many John F McCarthy’s. But I found one reference, to a police officer in Oakland killed in the line of duty in 1922.
Was he memorable enough to n a,me a bridge after him? I cannot say. For a memorial naming, I amamazed that the sites I consulted never mentioned the naming of the bridge…
Thank you for the pics. I also love the Manila video below.
Reader Wil
February 23, 2009 at 10:39 pm
What an impressive piece of work! And so long!
Carver
February 23, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Beautiful bridge. I love these shots because they show the whole bridge and it’s view but also the closer structural shots are interesting.
Today's Blah
February 23, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Hmmm…this is a very magnificent bridge ewok! A double decker to add. I also posted some bridge today, what a coincidence. I’ve been hopping from one blog to another and I’ve seen so many photos of bridges now.
Susan
February 23, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Bridges terrify me; I’ve never been on a double-decker before. A view of San Quentin prison is quite a bonus however!
Interesting about the bridge name on either side, because that’s the same thing we do in Ireland. The name of a road is simply the name of the place it’s taking you to, very often.
Beautiful photos btw! Thanks for a great post!
Ruth
February 23, 2009 at 11:57 pm
I would want to be on the top of the double decker bridge both ways! Our longest bridge connects New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and is 8.1 miles long. I drove it once and took the ferry back.
wren
February 24, 2009 at 12:31 am
Great photo tour – I’m impressed you have such steady hands when shooting in a moving car. Nice combination of scenic overview and up close on the bridge itself – in both directions.
Janie of Utah
February 24, 2009 at 1:01 am
That looks like quite an engineering feat. Must be very confusing to have 2 names for the same bridge!
Beautiful photos.
CaroleD
February 24, 2009 at 1:18 am
I love to look at bridges. Don’t like driving on them! This one is terrific.
seniorhiker
February 24, 2009 at 1:31 am
What a beautiful bridge! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Mojo
February 24, 2009 at 4:18 am
From a distance it doesn’t look all that sturdy does it? But obviously it is… it would have to be to support the kind of traffic it does. Great post!
Maria
February 24, 2009 at 4:38 am
Great bridges! Really amazing!
mountain mama
February 24, 2009 at 5:18 am
Wonderful post!
Geogypsy
February 24, 2009 at 5:26 am
That is one long bridge at 5.5 miles. The patterns in its structure are interesting. The long shot makes it look like a roller coaster while the tall double stanchions mimic the mountainous background. While I admire its architecture, I don’t really like long bridges.
Lew
February 24, 2009 at 6:08 am
Great post on the bridge! We crossed it once about 20 years ago. We had gone to Marin County from San Fran and just wanted to get a glimpse of San Quentin. Thre’s lots of interesting stuff in your part of the world.
Lilli
February 24, 2009 at 6:52 am
Wow that is one long bridge to cross over. Nice capture
Indrani
February 24, 2009 at 7:45 am
That is one amazing bridge… two tier!
Thanks for sharing!
Inkivääri, Finland
February 24, 2009 at 7:52 am
Great pics of great a bridge!
susieofarabia
February 24, 2009 at 2:13 pm
That is quite an impressive bridge – and it’s two story – wow! Great photos!
Brit' Gal Sarah
February 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm
This is the first time I have seen a double decker bridge, fascinating!
masood
February 24, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Awesome View, Great pictures 🙂
chrome3d
February 24, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Very thorough introduction to this impressive bridge. I have never seen a double decker bridge, or maybe there was one with a train on the other floor, but that was unique to me.
nadia
February 24, 2009 at 8:09 pm
That is one amazing structure! Very impressive pictures too 🙂
John
February 24, 2009 at 9:15 pm
That is a very long and nicely bridge!
lourett
February 25, 2009 at 12:49 am
Wow! What a nice bridge. Who’s the architect of that?
Antigoni
February 25, 2009 at 7:01 am
Fantastic bridge. Great photos.
2sweetnsaxy
February 25, 2009 at 5:46 pm
That’s a really, really long bridge. Great shots. I don’t get to see or go over that many, especially not like this so I’m sure I’d be a little apprehensive crossing this one.
panaderos
February 27, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I think I drove on this bridge a couple of years ago on my way to San Rafael. Correct me if I’m wrong but is this the bridge that gives me a view of San Quentin prison? If so, I love this bridge and its views (except for the prison). 😀
Louise Cannon
March 1, 2009 at 2:31 am
Wow! That is LONG. And a double-decker, too. Wow!