On Saturday, the elevated section of Interstate 80 in San Francisco continued its reconstruction work. And, as predicted, it made for slow-going drivers trying to take the Bay Bridge into the city.
Traffic looked normal for a Saturday, until the area near Treasure Island. Then, things became bumper-to-bumper for a slow ride into the city. Caltrans closed westbound I-80 from 5th Street to 15th, which means Fremont, Harrison and Fifth are the only three exits for traffic getting off the bridge. And that means everyone was jamming onto surface streets.
"I mean, I guess it, kind of, is what it is," said SF resident Bonnie Pittock. "People still need to get to where they're going. It's pretty annoying, though, with all the honking. Because there's traffic and people are trying to get where they're going. And they get frustrated because it's such a long wait."
The work began Friday night and will continue through Sunday, reopening on Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. It's part of a comprehensive project by Caltrans to rehabilitate the viaduct sections of the freeway.
"A lot of those elevated freeways, they were built in the 50s, the 40s. It's just time to work on the decks," said Caltrans spokesperson Bart Ney. "So, this is an overlay that we're going to be doing, grinding off the surface and putting a new polyester concrete overlay on top."
But as it was happening, a lot of roadways in the area were being affected.
"I live in Daly City, and when I got on the freeway it was, like, triple or more traffic you see at 5-something in the morning on a Saturday," said Roberto Tirado Crespo.
A block from the freeway, he joined a group of co-workers at the Utah Bar for lunch while taking in the early Valkyries playoff game. He wasn't surprised that people getting off the freeway may cause a bit of chaos.
"Yeah, because everything is 'one-way' and 'no left turns,'" he said. "If you don't live here, you don't understand the streets, and everybody's confused, and it just stops traffic."
It wasn't stopping traffic outside the Utah on Saturday afternoon. In fact, bar owner Ventura Garcia said it was nothing like what happened last week when everyone was trying to get to the Valkyries finals game at the Chase Center.
"If you look out here on Bryant Street, you've got four lanes, then you got three lanes coming off the freeway, one lane here, all bottlenecking here during the Valkyries finals game. That was insane last week," said Garcia.
CBS News Bay Area reporter John Ramos asked, "What would have happened if that game had happened when the freeway was closed?"
"Ooh, couldn't imagine it myself. Uh, lot of frustration. People are coming into San Francisco and kind of being shunted around, especially in a place like SOMA."
Still, Ventura said he had hoped for a little more business on Saturday from people wanting to take a break from the gridlock.
"Um, I was hopeful of that as a way of getting more traffic," he said. "But I just figured that it would raise a little bit of attention overall. Because you know what traffic does to people."
But the boys at the bar said they'll be glad when it's over. Although the sign on the freeway says the overall project won't be finished until 2028. So, what was Roberto's prediction for the rest of the weekend?
"I'm not working tomorrow," he said. "Thankfully!"
The work continues Sunday, and Caltrans recommends that people "know before you go." They say drivers can call 511 for route advice, and they have information on their website about the detours to take to get past the closure.
