CalTrans makes progress on seismic upgrade of I-280 in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- CalTrans is making progress on a seismic upgrade of Interstate 280 in San Francisco. They had to close the northbound lanes of I-280 all the way from Highway 101 to King Street. The southbound lanes of Interstate 280 will stay open. People heading out of town for the holiday weekend, are encouraged to avoid driving up the Peninsula.

So far, this seismic retrofit project is on schedule. Crews are almost finished cutting away at the section of I-280. It's 56-feet across and 24-feet wide. This four-day closure will allow CalTrans to replace two bridge hinges with larger ones, giving the span more flexibility.

There is a hinge where two sections of the bridge interlock with a depth of about six inches. The new hinges will interlock with a depth of three feet.

This project was planned in advance and it has nothing to do with the timeliness of the Napa earthquake.

So far, no problems have been reported and CalTrans is on schedule to reopen northbound I-280 by 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

The planned closure is the third this year. The highway was also closed in the area for similar seismic strengthening during the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holiday weekends.

Over the Labor Day weekend, motorists can call 511 or visit 511.org for more information about the closure and any changes in the reopening time.

Motorists are advised to use public transportation such as BART, Caltrain, San Francisco Municipal Railway and SamTrans to avoid heavy traffic in the area caused by the detour.

While the freeway is closed, avoid traffic jams by downloading the ABC7 News Waze app.