TRAFFIC ALERT: Everything You Need to Know About the Golden Gate Closures

By Renee Schiavone (Patch Staff)

The full closure of the Golden Gate Bridge is fast approaching, and California Highway Patrol officials want to make sure you know all the details surrounding the event.

The bridge is scheduled to be closed for a total of 52 hours beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. It’s part of a project to install a 13,340-foot moveable median barrierwhich will provide a safer trip across the bridge and eliminate head-on collisions, according to bridge officials.

Once complete, that median “... will be moved several times a day to create more lanes in a particular direction to accommodate variable traffic demands such as the morning and evening commutes,” according to the Golden Gate Bridge District.

But first– to get the $30 million project finalized– the bridge will be closed to all traffic this weekend, except for emergency vehicles and Golden Gate Transit buses.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

CHP and construction crews have already been installing blue dots on the bridge roadway, to guide the two zipper trucks with Golden Gate Bridge logos that will move the barriers to different lanes to accommodate traffic flow.

“California Highway Patrol Officers along with construction personnel will begin setting up closures between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. [Friday] with the ambition of closing all roads at 11:30 p.m.,” CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said Thursday. “This will allow emergency personnel to sweep the areas within the closures to ensure that all traffic has been cleared before construction crews begin their work at midnight.”

Barclay provided the following information on the closures for your planning purposes:

CLOSURES AND VEHICLES:

MARIN COUNTY

Southbound US-101, traveling from Marin County toward San Francisco will be closed at the Marin City/Sausalito off ramp. A lane taper will begin just south of the SR-131/East Blithedale and continue to Marin City where all traffic will be forced to exit. People wishing to travel to Sausalito must take Bridgeway into and out of Sausalito as all other on-ramps/off-ramps will be closed south of Marin City.

The southbound US-101 off-ramp to Rodeo Avenue will be closed at approximately 9:00 AM Friday morning as the ramp does not connect to any roadways and is not used. Hikers commonly park on the off ramp to access hiking trails so we want to ensure someone does not park and come back from a hike after the closures have been set up.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY

Access to northbound US-101 from San Francisco will be restricted at the Marina Boulevard/Lombard Street intersection. Vehicles traveling on Lombard toward Marina will be forced to turn right onto Marina while vehicles traveling on Marina toward Lombard will be forced to turn left onto Lombard. SR-1 (19th Avenue) will be closed at Lake Street.

CLOSURE VIOLATIONS

Drivers who ignore the closure and enter the closed roadways may be cited for the violation. The citation can cost drivers in excess of $350 and result in a point on their driving record. There will be a large number of construction workers and emergency personnel working on these closed roads and their safety can be put at risk by an errant driver in the closure.

ALTERNATE ROUTES

Drivers wishing to travel from Marin County to San Francisco will have to take eastbound I-580, across the Richmond Bridge to westbound I-80 and across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Drivers wishing to travel from San Francisco to Marin County will have to take eastbound I-80 across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge to westbound I-580 (toward San Rafael) and across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

PEDESTRIANS

Although the east sidewalk on the Golden Gate Bridge will be open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, all surrounding parking lots will be closed to traffic. People wishing to visit the bridge must park outside of the closure and walk on designated pedestrian walkways to the area. Pedestrians found walking on the closed roadways will be contacted and may be cited. Although the roads are closed to routine traffic, emergency personnel as well as construction vehicles will still be traversing the roadways.

For more information regarding the closure and MMB, please visit the Golden Gate Bridge website at: http://www.goldengate.org/news/bridge/mmb_closure.php.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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