All EB lanes at I-580 on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge reopen following police activity, officials say
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- All eastbound lanes are back open on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, Caltrans said.
Caltrans says lanes reopened as of 7 a.m. Saturday.
Lanes on the lower deck of the bridge were closed since 1 p.m. Friday after reports of a man having a mental health crisis.
The California Highway Patrol says fire officials were able to go down and get him after several hours of negotiating.
Traffic was deadlocked from San Rafael to San Francisco forcing drivers to find alternative routes home.
Lanes closed Friday afternoon after police attempted to apprehend a man, said CHP spokesman Darrell Horner said. Westbound traffic remained open.
VIDEO: All EB lanes closed at I-580 on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge: CHP
The man apparently rode a bicycle onto the bridge's upper, westbound level, then climbed down to the lower, eastbound lanes, he said.
Traffic onto the bridge was closed at Main Street and at Bellam Boulevard in San Rafael, he said.
This incident impacted traffic all over the Bay Area including on the streets of San Francisco that are still at a crawl Friday night.
Drivers expressed frustration as they were stuck in stand-still traffic.
"This is ridiculous, it's unbelievable! It's unbelievable why we have to sit this long when they know people are just getting off work and they can't get home, I'm a diabetic, what if my sugar dropped or something? I'd be messed up!" Hercules resident Elaine Vaughn said.
"I know people that work around here, some people went through San Francisco and they're still stuck in San Francisco, some people went through Novato, they're still stuck in Novato," Richmond resident Luis Rojo said.
CHP officers were heard saying to motorists, "try to find any other way to get home, there's no point in just sitting around waiting."
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