Dumbarton Bridge to be Closed Labor Day Weekend

Planning a getaway by car, or just a day trip for the long weekend? Factor this into your plans: The Dumbarton Bridge will be closed during a holiday weekend.

And the corollary: Expect delays.

The 1.6-mile bridge that connects Fremont to Menlo Park will be closed from 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31 to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

According to dumbartonbridgeinfo.org, the three-day full closure of the bridge is needed so that crews can replace a portion of the eastern side of the bridge with “a state-of-the-art seismic joint,” which would make it more flexible during an earthquake.

The bridge work is part of the Dumbarton Bridge Seismic Retrofit, which is a portion of the San Francisco Bay Area Toll Bridge Seismic Retrofit Program. The project is expected to be completed by 2013.

Motorists can either go north and to use the San Mateo Bridge or south on Interstate 880 to Route 237 to reach Interstate 101 during the bridge closure.

It is the second time this year the bridge has been closed. During , crews replaced a western portion of the bridge with a new seismic joint.

Upon completion of the project, expected in early 2013, the Dumbarton Bridge will be state of the art, said Dumbarton Bridge Seismic Safety Project spokeswoman Effie Milionis Verducci said. The retrofit will increase the bridge's flexibility and stability in the event of a major earthquake, she said.            

The closure over the weekend will be the last full closure of the Dumbarton Bridge during the project, Verducci said. As crews complete the project, there will be nightly closures to one or two lanes in either direction, but they shouldn't affect traffic flow, she said.

The Bay Bridge is the last state-owned toll bridge in the Bay Area that requires a seismic retrofit, Verducci said. That ongoing project is expected to be complete some time next year, she said.

To get alerts about future work on the bridge, as the seismic repair work progresses, join the email list at info@dumbartonbridgeinfo.org For more information, visit www.dumbartonbridgeinfo.org.

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