CalTrans: Avoid eastbound Highway 24 this weekend due to BART construction project

ORINDA, Calif. (KGO) -- BART workers were telling riders the way, from buses to trains.

Bus bridges were running this weekend between Walnut Creek and Orinda BART stations. Major construction work is happening on the tracks near the Lafayette station all weekend.

"We're replacing 5,000 feet of rail and rock ballast and a whole lot more is going on," said BART spokesman Chris Filippi.

Old platform tiles are also getting replaced with new ones at the Lafayette station. BART has put the word out to riders telling them to expect about a 40 minute delay, but some folks never got the message.

"I guess I'll text my boss, tell him I'm going to be late," said BART rider Edward Lima.

But drivers were also feeling the pain. Two left lanes of eastbound Highway 24 were closed to make room for a giant 200-ton construction crane. It all created a traffic headache stretching for more than 3 miles.

CalTrans had this advice:

"It would help to avoid eastbound 24 this weekend. Use Highway 4 as an alternate," said CalTrans spokesman Bart Ney.

By late Saturday, CalTrans opened an additional lane of traffic on Highway 24 to relieve congestion.

Some riders avoided the bus bridge and drove to the Orinda station where parking spaces were vanishing.

"We almost didn't go to San Francisco because it took so long to get here," said Jane Galvan from Antioch.

BART says this phase of its construction project is on schedule and should be done in time for the Monday morning commute. The entire project is scheduled to last until October.

Expect delays and lane closures and bus bridges in the same area on Labor Day Weekend.