I-80 Closure: What to Know About Travel Through San Francisco Next Weekend

Bay Area residents hoping to cruise through the city to Oakland next weekend may want to ditch their cars and hop on public transit, as a key stretch of eastbound Interstate 80 through San Francisco will be closed to traffic.

Motorists are strongly advised to avoid the area around I-80 in San Francisco and the interchange with U.S. Highway 101 for the entire weekend of April 17–19. For those committed to driving, expect heavy delays and budget extra travel time, Caltrans said.

“We are trying to get the motorists to just avoid that area and choose not to drive. And if they do drive, to use one of the detours,” said Lori Shepherd, Caltrans’ public information officer for San Francisco County. “That would be really a great way to save themselves a lot of headaches.”

The closures are part of what Caltrans calls “The Fab Rehab,” the agency’s ongoing repair of crucial viaducts near downtown, where I-80 intersects with U.S. 101 near the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.

Keep reading for what to know about the I-80 closure and how it could affect your weekend.

• Jump straight to: How could the Bay Bridge be affected by the I-80 closure?

What part of I-80 will be closed April 17-19?

Caltrans has planned a full weekend closure of about 1.6 miles of eastbound I-80, from 17th Street to 4th Street.

The connector ramps from northbound U.S. 101 at 17th Street and southbound U.S. 101 near Bryant Street will also be closed.

For motorists traveling north on U.S. 101 through San Francisco, approaching the I-80 connector, Vermont Street will be the final exit.

Those who miss Vermont will be directed to take the 9th Street off-ramp and redirected through Bryant Street, to reenter eastbound I-80 at the 5th Street on-ramp.

When will the I-80 closure start and end?

The 55-hour closure will start at 11:00 p.m. Friday, April 17, and end at 6:00 a.m. Monday, April 20.

While you may see trucks and maintenance crews entering the site beforehand, work doesn’t begin until the posted time, Shepherd said.

How much could the Bay Bridge be affected by the I-80 closure?

To be clear, the Bay Bridge will be open — but getting to it through San Francisco will be a traffic nightmare.

Westbound I-80 will not be closed, so although people exiting the Bay Bridge into San Francisco will not have their routes affected by the closure, they’re still likely to face increased traffic in the area.

What detours and alternative routes are recommended during the I-80 closure?

For a detour from southbound U.S. 101 to eastbound I-80, people can take Folsom Street through SoMa to the Essex Street eastbound I-80 on-ramp.

From northbound U.S. 101, take the 9th Street–Civic Center exit. Continue straight onto Bryant Street, then take the 5th Street eastbound I-80 on-ramp toward the Bay Bridge.

Which travelers will be most affected by the I-80 closure?

Caltrans said roughly 55,000 cars typically use that stretch of freeway during peak weekend hours, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

While Shepherd emphasized that everyone driving into San Francisco and using its high-traffic arteries south of Market Street that weekend will run into detours and heavy traffic, he said the following travelers will likely be most affected:

• People coming up from the Peninsula and the South Bay
• Those heading across the Bay Bridge
• Travelers heading north from San Francisco International Airport.

Randol White, a spokesperson for the SamTrans network around San Mateo County and San Francisco, said the closures are not expected to affect any weekend bus routes.

However, “diversions from the closures could cause heavy traffic for our Route 292, which follows Mission Street through the affected area,” he said — and while Folsom Street is the suggested detour for drivers, “some of that extra surface street traffic could spill over to Mission,” warned White.

What parts of San Francisco will be most affected by traffic from the I-80 closure detours? How bad could traffic get?

Significant congestion and heavy travel delays are expected across SoMa, Mission Bay and surrounding corridors. The severity of those delays, Shepherd warned, will depend on how many people choose to drive and use the detours — “which is why we’re really, really urging motorists that weekend not to be in that area and to use public transportation.”

“We’ve got a wonderful public transportation system, with BART and Bay ferries and Muni,” Shepherd said.

What public events are happening in the Bay Area that weekend that could be affected by the I-80 closure?

While there are no home games for the Giants, Warriors or Valkyries that weekend, there are a host of other events that could draw major crowds.

It’s the last weekend of the beloved Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival in Japantown, including the Sunday grand parade. At the same time, San Francisco will host the annual Art Fair at Fort Mason.

And while San Francisco’s official 4/20 celebration on Hippie Hill has been canceled for the third year in a row, the party is far from over — the city has reintroduced the festivities as SF Space Walk, a week of events culminating with a celebration at Divisadero Street dispensary Basa SF and an afterparty at barcade Emporium on Monday.

Why is this closure taking place over this weekend?

Shepherd said Caltrans considered high-traffic events, school holidays and weather forecasts to determine a time when travelers would be least affected by the closure.

Maintenance crews will place polyester overlays and bridge joints onto the viaducts, which were originally built 71 years ago.

As part of these improvements, overnight lane closures will continue through October 2026 on U.S. 101 and I-80.

Work is scheduled nightly from 10:00 p.m. to 6 a.m. During those hours, lanes 1 and 2 between U.S. 101 and the 4th Street/Bryant off-ramp will be closed, leaving one lane open for traffic. Drivers should expect reduced speeds, possible delays and shifting traffic patterns through the work zone.

The project is part of a larger series of renovations Caltrans is spearheading throughout San Francisco, which began in October 2025. These include four major corridors:

• 19th Avenue Repave: Rehabilitation of the entire length of pavement along 19th Avenue from Golden Gate Park to San Francisco State University, and upgrading facilities to ADA standards.
• S. 101 Bayshore Rehabilitation Project: Improvements to the drainage systems; lane replacement with reinforced concrete paving and paving of freeway shoulder, ramps and mainline; and addition of new signage/striping/safety devices.
• I-80 Central Freeway/U.S. 101 Viaduct Project: An overhaul of freeway decks and bridge rails, reconstruction of joints and addition of polyester overlay.
• I-280 at Farallones Street Pedestrian Overcrossing Rehabilitation: Construction of a new pedestrian overcrossing at Interstate 280 near Cayuga Park.

Shepherd said the projects are necessary to make the structures usable for the next half-century.

“These are all projects that are desperately needed to bring these structures up to code,” Shepherd said. “They’ve been strong and reliable for many, many years, but it’s time now to go and make sure that they’re rehabilitated.”

The first two projects are already underway, and the closures next weekend kick off the reconstruction of the viaduct project. The pedestrian overpass reconstruction is expected to start later this year.

The closures scheduled for next weekend are related to the now-canceled closure of the 4th Street exit on eastbound I-80, which was originally scheduled for this weekend but postponed due to the forecast for rain.