Construction fuels traffic jam on Bay Bridge

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Commuters coming into San Francisco on the Bay Bridge this morning faced a huge traffic snarl.

Traffic was backed up across the bridge to the East Bay.

What caused the backup was that drivers had to slow down as they crossed two steel plates in three left hand lanes of the bridge just before the Fremont Street exit.

Gridlock stretched back to Highway 24 near Children's Hospital in Oakland.

Traffic advisory signs showed the drive time to San Francisco as 59 minutes. That's about double the normal time that it takes to get into the city.

The plates are part of some remedial construction work Caltrans is carrying out.

The slow commute continued well past the peak 9 a.m. hour and there's no immediate end in sight to the mess.

Caltrans expects to be working on the lanes for another 60 work days.