Carquinez Bridge, California

The Bay system is at its narrowest point at the western end of Carquinez Strait, a six mile long submerged canyon that separates San Pablo Bay from Suisun Bay. The Bay Area's bridges have many superlatives associated with them, and the Carquinez Bridge is no exception. It was called the highest bridge in the world when it was built and the largest cantilever bridge in the United States for many years. The Carquinez Bridge is actually two bridges, the original 1927 bridge, and a similar bridge built next to it in 1958, for the Interstate. In 2003, a new suspension bridge officially known as the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge, was built at a cost of around $240 million, to replace the original 1927 bridge, which then took another four years to be completely dismantled.