Golden Gate Bridge lower deck? Images from all the times it almost happened

An image from the 1968 report "Golden Gate Bridge Lower Deck for Vehicular Traffic: Report on the Concept, Preliminary Design and Estimated Cost" prepared by Ammann & Whitney for the Golden Gate Bridge District. less An image from the 1968 report "Golden Gate Bridge Lower Deck for Vehicular Traffic: Report on the Concept, Preliminary Design and Estimated Cost" prepared by Ammann & Whitney for the Golden Gate Bridge ... more Photo: Golden Gate Bridge Highway And Transportation District, Ammann & Whitney 1968 Report Photo: Golden Gate Bridge Highway And Transportation District, Ammann & Whitney 1968 Report Image 1 of / 87 Caption Close Golden Gate Bridge lower deck? Images from all the times it almost happened 1 / 87 Back to Gallery

BART zooms across the Golden Gate Bridge in a 1961 ad. Wide-bodied Chryslers and Fords are seen on a potential lower deck in a 1968 rendering.

For San Francisco drivers who've spent a lifetime on the single deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, the images of a lower deck are stunning.

What's even more stunning? In the 1960s, engineers found the lower deck plan was "entirely feasible."

The idea of turning the Golden Gate Bridge into a double-decker has been around almost since the bridge was opened in 1937. But the closest we've come to getting a second deck was in the 1960s, when the Golden Gate Bridge District was searching for solutions to its growing traffic problem.

The district consulted with engineering firm Ammann & Whitney, which released reports in 1964 and 1968 on the feasibility of a second deck. According to the Golden Gate Bridge District, traffic rose dramatically on the span after it opened, from 3.3 million vehicles in 1938 to 28.3 million vehicles by 1967.

Ammann & Whitney twice concluded a second deck was a good option to relieve traffic congestion. In a large, full-color book published in 1968, the engineers say "we have come to the conclusion that the construction and operation of a four-lane lower deck with one lane reserved for express bus transit operation is entirely feasible, that aside from the addition of the lower deck only moderate changes in the existing structure are necessary ... and that it will leave the structure in a conservatively safe condition."

The plan, which was slated to cost close to $50 million, was ultimately discarded in favor of increased public transit options. The district became the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District and added bus and ferry service across the bay.

The idea of a second deck has been raised many times since, particularly with each fatal crash along the span. In 1996, the Chronicle's own Herb Caen said "a second deck seems like the answer" after a head-on crash claimed the life of 38-year-old Tamar Kraut.

The bridge saw 128 head-on collisions from 1970-2015, and 16 people died. The fatalities finally led to a movable barrier installed in 2015. In attendance at the dedication was Dr. Grace Dammann, who was paralyzed in a 2008 head-on crash and featured in the documentary "States of Grace."

And what about BART? That 1961 General Electric ad shows one of many BART dreams from before the system was built. The original BART map had the trains heading north of San Rafael, and as far south along the Peninsula as Palo Alto.

Those photos above allow us to dream, still. And if a lower deck is out the window, at least give us BART to the Outer Richmond. Please?