Locals brace for Bay Bridge closure

As part of its West Approach Seismic Retrofit Project, Caltrans will perform major demolition work on the Bay Bridge over Labor Day weekend, closing the lower eastbound deck of the bridge to traffic and forcing residents to find other means to get from San Francisco to the East Bay.

The closure will be in effect from 11:59 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1 through 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5 in the eastbound direction only. The upper deck will remain open to westbound traffic coming into San Francisco throughout the weekend. The First Street, Essex Street, Sterling Street, 5th Street, and 8th Street eastbound on-ramps will also be closed from 11:59 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Travelers are advised to use BART to travel between San Francisco and the East Bay to avoid traffic congestion on other routes out of SF. BART will provide all-night service to a limited number of stations Friday night into Saturday, Saturday night into Sunday, and Sunday night through 1 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5. Regular BART service resumes at 4 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5.

BART will run regularly scheduled service to all its stations during normal operating hours on Labor Day weekend including a normal Saturday schedule on Sept. 2, and a Sunday/holiday schedule on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4. The all-night BART train service will run hourly after 1 a.m. and only serve 14 of BART's 43 stations. CalTrans is sponsoring the all-night BART service.