12+ hour, 4+ min ago (741+ words) Preparations are underway to remove obsolete toll booths from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, setting a course for it to become the first bridge in the Bay Area with open-road tolling. The work to take out the booths, which are on the Richmond side of the westbound upper deck, is set to begin on Dec. 10, according to the California Department of Transportation. Caltrans owns the bridge and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission-Bay Area Toll Authority manages it. "In a nutshell, the shift to ORT is to make both traffic flow and toll collection more efficient," said John Goodwin, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, referring to open-road tolling. "This is expected to increase safety and to reduce emissions." Toll booths on the bridge haven't been used since 2020. The agency stopped cash collection in favor of FasTrak toll tags. The project on the…...