The original 1.2-mile (1.9 km) deck truss bridge opened in 1962 to replace the last automotive ferry service in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The 1962 bridge has seven 528-foot (161 m) spans and 138 feet (42 m) of vertical clearance, now carrying four lanes of southbound traffic, as well as a path for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The bridge is part of Interstate 680, a major transportation link connecting other heavily traveled freeways.

Until the remaining unused toll booths are removed, drivers in those lanes are forced to slow substantially from freeway speeds while passing through.

During peak traffic hours on weekdays between 5:00 am and 10:00 am, and between 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm, carpool vehicles carrying three or more people, clean air vehicles, or motorcycles may pay a discounted toll of $4 if they have FasTrak and use the designated carpool lane.

[8] A $1 seismic retrofit surcharge was added in 1998 by the state legislature, increasing the toll to $2 (equivalent to $3.74 in 2023), originally for eight years, but since then extended to December 2037 (AB1171, October 2001).

[9] On March 2, 2004, voters approved Regional Measure 2 to fund various transportation improvement projects, raising the toll by another dollar to $3 (equivalent to $4.84 in 2023).

Caltrans administers the "second dollar" seismic surcharge, and receives some of the MTC-administered funds to perform other maintenance work on the bridges.

The Bay Area Toll Authority is made up of appointed officials put in place by various city and county governments, and is not subject to direct voter oversight.

[15] In September 2019, the MTC approved a $4 million plan to eliminate toll takers and convert all seven of the state-owned bridges to all-electronic tolling, citing that 80 percent of drivers are now using FasTrak and the change would improve traffic flow.

[25] Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak also run here on trackage rights.

[26][27] A vista point is located on the north side of the span, providing an excellent view of the 3 parallel bridges passing over the Carquinez Strait with Mount Diablo in the background.

This is typically the point where cyclists and pedestrians wishing to cross the bridge park their cars.