California Roads - US 101/CA 1 - San Fran-Sausalito

US 101/CA 1, San Francisco to Sausalito


If you're looking for the Golden Gate Bridge, start here. These are all the non-bridge photos from the concurrency.


I lied. These are bridge photos, but not of the Golden Gate. In fact, they were taken from the Golden Gate, but they're showing I-80 leaving San Francisco on the Bay Bridge. The first half of that bridge is four suspension spans (two visible from here) and the second half is now a cable-stayed bridge, but you can see the former truss, which was less seismically stable, being dismantled behind it. In fact, part of the top deck of the truss famously collapsed onto the bottom deck during the 1989 Loma Prieta quake.


Closeups of the trusswork on each side. The reason for the different designs is that the main shipping channel passes under the western (suspension) bridge and is much deeper than the eastern bay. Between the bridges is Yerba Buena Island.


Different vantages from farther north afford a view of a third I-80 span.


Also bridge-related, this curious sign was erected by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District leaving their southeast side parking lot. The Exit 439 entrance to the bridge is to the right and all non-bridge destinations are ahead.


It gets worse, much worse, before I can make it better. These aren't so much throwbacks as throwouts. They're north of SB Exit 439 at a tunnel that connects the southwest and southeast parking lots under the bridge toll plaza. The first sign directs traffic from US 101/CA 1 SB or the west side of the Presidio over to the east side of the highway, and the second sign does the reverse; you can see the latter on the right side of the first photo.


I did promise I'd make it better. The actual throwback of the one-way sign is at the base of the NB Exit 439 ramp, pointing north to the parking lot. The color scheme made more sense when the sign was button copy but I appreciate keeping it. The second sign is at the WB entrance to the toll plaza tunnel. Notice the red clearance; red is a regulatory color reserved for specific uses, so this should be a yellow warning.


Here's all the NB button copy on this side of the Waldo Grade. You'll see why that's important in a bit.


To stall before then, heres a flash version of the previous sign.


There is no button copy along the NB Exit 442 ramp to Alexander Ave., but the outline inside the US 101 shield is a great facsimile.


The corresponding SB Exit 442 sign and Alexander Ave. WB at the entrance to US 101 NB. Notice that no sign thus far has mentioned CA 1. California doesn't do well with concurrencies.


The northeast parking facility (Vista Point) is accessed from the NB side only, so this sign at the NB entrance tells you to use Alexander Ave. to U-turn. SB traffic can only get here by paying a toll.


Oh, cool, the mountain has eyes. That's the Waldo Tunnel (singular name for a plural facility), now officially the Robin Williams Tunnel. It was renamed by a unanimous vote in 2015, because who would want to be the guy who voted against Robin Williams? The SB tunnel is the 1937 original that gave it its singular name and it was twinned in 1954.


Heading north through the newer and thus more boring tunnel, down the Exit 443 (Spencer Ave.) ramp and continuing straight along the frontage road until the next entrance. That's button copy down there.


Continuing north to a sign so nice, I photographed it twice. Click on the last photo for a daytime buttony closeup. I get that the word "Sausalito" is on this sign (Exit 445A), but it's not "Sausalito Exit." There are other Sausalito exits and this goes other places.


The best I could do to get you some SB signs from US 101 and silently CA 1. Here's another Sausalito Exit. It's not the same one. Tell me again how this doesn't need to be renamed. (Alexander Ave. owns the title of "Other Sausalito Exit" here.)


Ending US 101/CA 1's fourth and final concurrency with some delightfully reflective signs on the left and right of the same gantry at the split.

On the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge side views
Back south on US 101
Continue north on US 101
Onto CA 1 alone
Back to US 101 main page


Across the bay to I-80
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