Over 600 feet of temporary bike and pedestrian pathways will be installed over the five-day Labor Day Weekend closure. A section of the current, westbound upper deck has to be demolished first to make way for them.
"Starting at 8 p.m. that evening, we're going to start demolishing from the water back to the ground, the upper deck, which is the westbound side," MCM Construction spokesperson Gregory Allen said.
The rest of the path, cantilevered off the southern edge of the eastbound deck, is complete almost to Treasure Island. It will be at least another year before the island connection is done.
The path will be open to the public at 10 a.m. Sept. 3. Caltrans has not decided how far people will be allowed to go. California Highway Patrol bicycle patrols will be monitoring the crowds.
"If the capacity reaches a certain number, we'll just go ahead and restrict access for a bit until, and start an in-and-out procedure," CHP Ofc. Daniel Hill said. "So pedestrians and bicyclists might expect a bit of a delay on the opening day; it may be the opening week."
Riders should be prepared for wind and an uphill ride west.
"It's going to be quite a trek coming up it because of the 2 percent grade all the way up; it's a little bit more than you think it is but it's going to be just awesome to be able to do it," Allen said.
The paths are a continuation of the Bay Trail that will begin on land in Emeryville and eventually connect all the way to Treasure Island.
