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Bridge fix
North Bay motorists benefit from new Doyle Drive plan
The Press Democrat (California)
November 19, 2008
A new plan for rebuilding Doyle Drive, the outdated southern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, is a welcome improvement over past proposals that would have stuck North Bay motorists with too much of the bill.
Built as the landmark bridge was completed in 1937, Doyle Drive is too narrow, lacks a center divider and shoulders and doesn't meet seismic safety standards. On a 100-point structural integrity scale, federal highway officials rate the road a 2.
No one seriously doubts the need to replace the 1.5-mile approach to the bridge. But there have been plenty of questions about how to pay for it.
Past proposals focused on higher bridge tolls, first for all southbound crossings and later for vehicles crossing during peak traffic hours. Both alternatives predominantly targeted commuters from Marin and Sonoma counties, leaving out crosstown San Francisco drivers who use Doyle Drive to reach the Presidio.
Needless to say, neither proposal got much traction in the North Bay, and both ultimately were rejected by the Golden Gate Bridge board of directors.
A better approach surfaced this month.
The Metropolitan Transportation District, a regional planning agency, will provide $80 million, and the Golden Gate Bridge district will put up $75 million. The Marin County Transportation Authority will allocate $4 million, and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority will chip in $1 million. Sonoma County also will lend a $20 million congressional earmark for ferry service at Port Sonoma on San Pablo Bay.
The remainder is to be covered largely by local, state and federal dollars already set aside for Doyle Drive. Some have questioned the $1 billion cost estimate for the project, so a careful accounting should be provided for public review. Meanwhile, supporters say work on the new approach could begin in 2010 and be finished in 2014.
Sonoma County already has approved the deal. The Marin authority and the bridge district boards vote this week, with MTC to follow.
A toll increase isn't entirely off the table. The bridge district has until 2014 to come up with its share of the money. But there's time to explore alternatives, even revisiting a corporate sponsorship program, before asking motorists to dig deeper.
Sonoma County Supervisor Mike Kerns, who also sits on the transportation authority and bridge boards, summed up the new approach with an understatement: "If $1 million gets us off the hook, it's probably not a bad price to pay."
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