The 24 Hour Job of Running Alameda's Bridges

Bay Curious

KQED

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sarah Reid noticed a control booth attached to one of Alameda's many drawbridges, and wondered if people are inside, working the bridge. Turns out they are, and it's a round-the-clock job. This week, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman takes us into the life of a bridge tender, and explores the history of crossing the Oakland Estuary. Additional Resources: Alameda Relies on Bridge Tenders for Safety on Land and Sea Read the transcript for this episode Why Is Part of Alameda Island in San Francisco? Alameda: The Island That Almost Wasn’t Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know, every day on Up First, NPR's Golden Globe nominated morning news podcast, we bring you three essential stories.
0:06.9	At the heart of each story are questions.
0:10.1	What really happened?
0:11.3	What really mattered?
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0:43.6	From K-Q-E-D.
0:45.9	Hey, everyone, this is Bay Curious. I'm Olivia Allen-Price.
0:50.3	Crossing bridges can be essential to getting around the Bay Area.
0:53.5	No matter what side of the water you live on, odds are you're probably going to use a bridge sooner or later. And for people who live, work, or just hang out in the city of Alameda, crossing a bridge is almost non-negotiable. The island is connected to the rest of the bay by six draw bridges, as well as two underwater tunnels that span the Oakland estuary.
1:16.6	When those bridges open to let a boat pass, everybody has to wait.
1:21.3	One day, Sarah Reed was in her car watching the Park Street bridge open when she noticed a little room attached to one of those bridges.
1:30.2	And I remember looking up at those little rooms wondering, does someone just sit up there all day?
1:37.3	And what is that like?
	...

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