Work Crews to Begin Repairs on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge

A Caltrans contractor is scheduled Tuesday night to begin replacing a damaged expansion joint on the upper deck of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the source of falling concrete that shut down the span on Feb. 7 and led to traffic tie-ups throughout the central Bay Area.

Crews plan to work on the replacement project overnight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Only one lane of traffic will be open in each direction during the repair, which is expected to take up to two weeks, weather permitting.

"The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge remains safe," said Caltrans District 4 Director Tony Tavares in a statement. "Caltrans is committed to safety while maintaining connectivity to this thriving region in the Bay Area."

Caltrans has hired Berkeley-based contractor O.C. Jones and Sons, the same contractor that built the third eastbound lane on the bridge, for the replacement project at an estimated cost of $300,000.

The bridge was closed late on the morning on Feb. 7 after a chunk of concrete, described as football-sized or basketball-sized, fell and struck a car traveling on the span's eastbound lower deck.

The span remained closed most of the day as pieces of concrete continued to fall from the underside of the upper deck and to shatter on the lower roadway. It reopened briefly in the afternoon, but was almost immediately shut down again as the concrete fall recurred.

Traffic finally resumed its normal flow in both directions that evening after crews installed a steel plate over the damaged expansion joint and placed plywood on the underside of the upper deck to prevent any further concrete drops.

The closure's impact was felt all over the central Bay Area, with gridlock prevailing, for instance, in downtown San Francisco.