Bay Bridge Closure Causes Tie-Ups As Commuters Adjust

During the Labor Day weekend, crews wrapped a custom-made steel saddle, like a brace around a person's knee, around a cracked strut to redistribute stress away from the area. That was attached to another saddle, set lower down the Bay Bridge span with steel tie rods. However, yesterday that repair work snapped off in the midst of high winds, hitting three cars and causing Caltrans to another Bay Bridge closure.

The crack had been found during seismic retrofitting and a Bay Bridge closure originally scheduled for the Labor Day weekend.

Early commutes showed that people were aware of the Bay Bridge closure. The San Mateo bridge showed a 1/2 mile backup and two accidents in the westbound, or commute direction, before 6 AM, which is earlier than normal commute hours.

In more San Mateo Bridge news,Caltrans said they will, if necessary, expand to two lanes the interchange from southbound Interstate 880 to westbound Highway 92 to handle the extra traffic load from people diverting from the Bay Bridge Closure. The decision will, of course, be made as time progresses.

BART announced plans to run longer trains beginning as needed throughout the day. The trains are busiest between 7 and 8 AM, so commuters are advised to avoid traveling at that time if possible. The Alameda-Oakland Ferry also announced plans to run extra service on its ferry routes.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District announced that all southbound lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge at the toll plaza would be open by 4 AM to accommodate heavy traffic. The district also announced the addition of a high-capacity ferry departing from Larkspur for San Francisco at 7 AM.

There is some good news, however. Unlike on Labor Day weekend, when crews had to rush to get a custom saddle made, Caltrans announced that the materials needed for the repair are on hand at the repair site east of the new S-curve (shown) on the bridge. It is unclear what is meant by that, though it does imply they are not using a saddle support structure as previously. There is still, as we said, no ETA on when the Bay Bridge closure will end, however.