When most people think of archetypal San Francisco Bay Area bridges, their thoughts turn to postcard views of the Golden Gate Bridge looming in the fog. So it was with some shock and surprise that residents and commuters in this suburban Silicon Valley community reacted to the news that the prosaic San Mateo Bridge was among Al Qaeda’s possible targets, according to information provided to interrogators by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the senior terrorist leader who was captured this month in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Probably the least captivating and memorable of the Bay Area’s bridges, the 6.8-mile link between Hayward in the East Bay and Foster City and San Mateo on the Peninsula does not possess powerful symbolism here beyond its reputation as a traffic nightmare. The low-slung ribbon of asphalt — nicknamed the S-and-M Bridge by the late traffic reporter Jane Dornacker — is most significant for the tremendous surge of traffic it had over the last two decades, which nearly doubled to 80,000 cars a day from 42,000, a reflection of the growth of Silicon Valley. The Bay Bridge, connecting Oakland and San Francisco, and the Golden Gate, connecting San Francisco and Marin County, draw far more traffic — 280,000 and 160,000 cars a day, respectively. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.