SAN FRANCISCO―Repair work on the collapsed section of the Bay Bridge will most likely continue through the weekend, according to California Department of Transportation.
As of Friday evening there was still no estimate as to when the bridge will reopen to traffic.
Workers are still custom-fitting steel in their efforts to repair a section where two rods and a crossbar fell from the bridge onto the roadway and struck three vehicles on Tuesday evening.
The bridge which is a major traffic artery in and out of San Francisco has been closed since then.
Once the custom-fitting work is completed, there will be several hours of rigorous tests and enhancements to make sure that the repaired area of the bridge is safer, according to California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney.
“There is still a lot of work,'' Ney said.
Outside experts from the Federal Highway Administration and other groups are also expected to examine the repaired section and determine if the bridge is ready to handle traffic again.
Ney could not guarantee that the span would reopen in time for the Monday morning commute.
Bay Area transportation agencies said that they are preparing to accommodate riders during the weekends as the bridge is expected to remain closed. San Francisco Rapid Transit (BART) announced that the transportation agency will offer 24-hour service if the Bay Bridge remains closed on Friday and Saturday nights.
BART trains will run hourly to the 14 selected stations during the overnight hours. If the bridge is still closed Saturday night into Sunday morning, then BART trains will once again run hourly, overnight service to those 14 selected stations.
BART has no plans at this time to run overnight service from Sunday night into Monday morning.
During the day, BART will run on its normal schedule, however many trains will be longer where needed – especially Halloween evening.
As of Friday evening there was still no estimate as to when the bridge will reopen to traffic.
Workers are still custom-fitting steel in their efforts to repair a section where two rods and a crossbar fell from the bridge onto the roadway and struck three vehicles on Tuesday evening.
The bridge which is a major traffic artery in and out of San Francisco has been closed since then.
Once the custom-fitting work is completed, there will be several hours of rigorous tests and enhancements to make sure that the repaired area of the bridge is safer, according to California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney.
“There is still a lot of work,'' Ney said.
Outside experts from the Federal Highway Administration and other groups are also expected to examine the repaired section and determine if the bridge is ready to handle traffic again.
Ney could not guarantee that the span would reopen in time for the Monday morning commute.
Bay Area transportation agencies said that they are preparing to accommodate riders during the weekends as the bridge is expected to remain closed. San Francisco Rapid Transit (BART) announced that the transportation agency will offer 24-hour service if the Bay Bridge remains closed on Friday and Saturday nights.
BART trains will run hourly to the 14 selected stations during the overnight hours. If the bridge is still closed Saturday night into Sunday morning, then BART trains will once again run hourly, overnight service to those 14 selected stations.
BART has no plans at this time to run overnight service from Sunday night into Monday morning.
During the day, BART will run on its normal schedule, however many trains will be longer where needed – especially Halloween evening.
