The Presidents’ Day weekend closure of the westbound deck was a resounding success. A combination of efficient teamwork, led by prime contractor, MCM Construction, and clear weather enabled crews to complete the work 34 hours ahead of schedule. The entire Bay Bridge is now open.

The westbound deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has been closed since Friday, February 18th, at 8:00PM. The westbound deck was supposed to stay closed until Tuesday, February 21st, at 5:00AM. The upper deck of the bridge closed, so crews could finish a westbound detour near the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza.

Now that traffic has successfully shifted south onto the detour, crews can finish demolishing a section of the existing bridge, much of which was successfully demolished during the closure. That section of the original westbound deck is in conflict with the eastbound deck of the new Bay Bridge. Westbound motorists will continue using the detour until the new East Span is completed in 2013.

The California Highway Patrol was able to clear traffic from the deck in only 12 minutes on Friday night, which was record time for a Bay Bridge closure. The quick clearing allowed construction crews to mobilize quickly and begin work.

Westbound motorists will notice a gentler curve as they approach the bridge; speed limits will remain the same. The eastbound detour went into effect in May 2011. Caltrans took advantage of the closure to complete other work throughout the Bay Bridge, including electrical, painting, inspections and other miscellaneous construction and maintenance projects. The Bay Area Toll Authority also took the opportunity to conduct work at and around the Toll Plaza during the closure. Shifting traffic onto the detours will allow construction of the new East Span to be completed ahead of schedule.

Before the detours went into effect, the new eastbound lanes were blocked by the original bridge’s westbound lanes. Now with westbound traffic safely moved to the new alignment, crews can finish the easternmost part of new bridge and open the new span to all motorists in late 2013.