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Transbay Center commissions tiny Bay Bridge

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Mini Eastern Span already over budget

Can San Francisco ever have enough bridges? Hopefully not, because at least one more is on the way in the form of a tiny, whimsical recreation of the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge, soon to grace the Transbay Transit Center. So says the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier and Ross.

The imitation span will actually be part of a ramp connecting the terminal to the real Bay Bridge and sending bus traffic happily sailing over the heads of motorists below, rather than creating a snarl of traffic.

Given the difficulties that have beset the real deal over the years, the lookalike design might be considered tempting fate. And indeed, Matier and Ross report that the $58 million price tag for the ramp project ($22 million of which is reserved for the bridge replica) is already $9 million over budget.

The jokes basically write themselves, but at least it’s stylish, and anyone commuting to or from the East Bay will get a double dose of the soaring white single tower bridge design, and on two different scales.