Oakland Bay Bridge Closed Labor Day Weekend

[KC_fn]

If you're headed for the San Francisco Port over the Labor Day weekend, leave extra early. The Oakland Bay Bridge will be closed both directions, all weekend, 24 hours a day. This closure of a major route, combined with holiday drivers, will make the usually-horrible Bay Area traffic a hellish nightmare in some places. Allow WAY more time than you think you'll need, and have alternate routes ready.

 

http://511.org/promo/baybridge/default.asp

[polodad]

The OP is correct that the SAN FRANCISCO-Oakland Bay Bridge will be closed Labor Day weekend. He just erred on the name. Use the San Mateo Bridge for So Bay to EB crossing as an alternative or Golden Gate & San Rafael-Richmond bridge if crossing from North Bay to East Bay. Or I believe BART is running extra trains.

[KC_fn]

Sorry, you're right about the name. You sound like you're in NoCal, so you know that I was lucky to even remember to add "Oakland". :p

 

The Dumbarton Bridge is another alternate for the South Bay. And yes, there will be extra BART trains; the buses and ferries will be working overtime as well. But if you're driving, plan on VERY long (literally, miles-long) lines at the major bridges and junctions.

[JJ2sail]

Well, really, we just call it the "Bay" bridge.:p ;) :D

[dosi]

When they closed the bridge last year there really weren't any extra long lines at all. We were moving my senior parents from just south of SF to near Tahoe. We didn't encounter any traffic that was heavier than that which occurs on a normal commute day, and in actuality it was probably a little lighter than a regular commute day. The bridge authority and CalTrans did a ton of research about this closure. Evidently, Labor Day weekend is one of the least heavy travel periods on the Bay Bridge. I agree that allowing some extra time would be prudent, but I doubt it will be a hellish nightmare. In fact, I rarely see the hellish nightmare scenario at all in the Bay Area.

[milolii]

Oakland/Alameda Ferry is also running extra crossings.

[melika091900]

THE TRAFFIC HASNT BEEN BAD AT ALL .. ITS SOOOOO WEIRD,

WE WENT TO OAKLAND LAST NIGHT FROM THE VALLEJO AREA, AND THERE WAS BARELY NO TRAFFIC IN EITHER DIRECTION ON 80... I WAS WORRIED SINCE IT WAS 2 HOURS BEFORE THE BRIDGE WAS CLOSING...

IT WAS REALLY WEIRD... BUT gOOD IN A WAY,, I HATE THE BAY AREA TRAFFIC...

 

 

MELISSA

[milolii]

:p :o Ok Caltrans/everyone else together has done it again. The Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge is set to re-open tonight. ;)

[KC_fn]

THE TRAFFIC HASNT BEEN BAD AT ALL .. ITS SOOOOO WEIRD,

WE WENT TO OAKLAND LAST NIGHT FROM THE VALLEJO AREA, AND THERE WAS BARELY NO TRAFFIC IN EITHER DIRECTION ON 80... I WAS WORRIED SINCE IT WAS 2 HOURS BEFORE THE BRIDGE WAS CLOSING...

IT WAS REALLY WEIRD... BUT gOOD IN A WAY,, I HATE THE BAY AREA TRAFFIC...

 

 

MELISSA

 

The same thing happened in Seattle in August. There was 3 weeks of work scheduled on 1-5 near the downtown; 4 lanes down to 1 lane, that sort of thing. Your basic nightmare scenario, especially at rush hour. So local officials and media waged an all-out campaign to terrify Puget Sounders away from I-5 -- and by golly, it worked. I happened to be driving on it the first day of construction and traffic was lighter than it's been in years.

 

Sounds like this same phenomenon may have happened with the Bay Bridge.

[melika091900]

The same thing happened in Seattle in August. There was 3 weeks of work scheduled on 1-5 near the downtown; 4 lanes down to 1 lane, that sort of thing. Your basic nightmare scenario, especially at rush hour. So local officials and media waged an all-out campaign to terrify Puget Sounders away from I-5 -- and by golly, it worked. I happened to be driving on it the first day of construction and traffic was lighter than it's been in years.

 

Sounds like this same phenomenon may have happened with the Bay Bridge.

 

 

it seemed like it .. we had to drive to oakland that night, and it was a friday night too, and it seemed like a weekday.. in the summer.. hee heee

it was weird, we had normal traffic in berkley like usual, but it wasnt bad, and the work traffic on the other direction, there was none, usually it takes 2 hrs from berkeley to the carquinez bridge. alot of people must of took the day off, or took bart,,

it was good me though,