State lawmakers pass resolution to name tunnel after comedian Robin Williams

The tunnel that greets drivers passing over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin County will soon be named after the late comedian and Tiburon resident Robin Williams.

The tunnel, marked by its rainbow-colored archway, is currently called the Waldo Tunnel after 19th century politician William Waldo. But since a resolution was approved in the California Senate last week, it will be known as the Robin Williams Tunnel.

Rep. Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, introduced the resolution after the well-loved comedian committed suicide last August. His resolution says that Williams was “a friend to the North Bay community of the San Francisco Bay area,” often dropping by unannounced at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley.

Williams attended Redwood High School in Larkspur and studied theater at the College of Marin in Kentfield, the resolution says.

The Assembly passed it in April, and the Senate adopted it last week.

The change doesn’t require Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval since it is a resolution and not a bill, according to Levine’s office.

The name change mainly entails swapping out signs, which Levine’s office says could be done by the fall, according to an article by the Marin Independent Journal.