No San Mateo Bridge This Weekend; List of Detours

(Bay City News Service and KQED) You know how three weeks you took note of that announcement that the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge would be shutting down over two weekends in October and tucked it away for future consideration? Guess what -- weekend No. 1 is upon us.

The bridge is shutting down the next two weekends for earthquake safety improvements, pushing motorists onto alternate routes to get between the Peninsula and East Bay, Caltrans officials said.

This weekend's closure begins at 10 p.m. today and is expected to continue until 5 a.m. Monday.

The span will shut down again the weekend of Oct. 26-29.

The closures will allow crews to install a new seismic joint and replace 60 feet of the bridge deck just east of the high rise, officials said.

Suggested alternate routes include the Dumbarton Bridge, the Bay Bridge or a southern route along state Highway 237.

As part of the closures, on-ramps from Edgewater Boulevard and Metro Center Boulevard on the Foster City eastbound side of the bridge will also shut down.

On the westbound side in Hayward, the on-ramp from Industrial Boulevard and Clawiter Road will be closed.

Here are the detour routes as provided by 511.org:

Primary Detour
Drivers should use Hwy 84 / the Dumbarton Bridge as an alternate connector between the East Bay and the Peninsula. From Foster City and San Mateo, eastbound traffic should take Hwy 101 south and then Hwy 84/Willow Road east over the Dumbarton Bridge. From Hayward, westbound traffic should take I-880 south to Hwy 84 west over the Dumbarton Bridge. See the map below for more details.

South Detour
Drivers can use Hwy 237 through the South Bay as another option between I-880 and Hwy 101. From Foster City and San Mateo, eastbound traffic should take Hwy 101 south and then Hwy 237 east toward Milpitas. From Hayward, westbound traffic should take I-880 south and then Hwy 237 west toward Sunnyvale. See the map below for more details.

North Detour
From the north, drivers can also use the Bay Bridge as an alternate route between the East Bay and the Peninsula. However, heavier congestion is expected along this route. From Foster City and San Mateo, eastbound traffic should take Hwy 101 north and then I-80 east toward Oakland. From Hayward, westbound traffic should take I-880 north and then I-80 west toward San Francisco. See the map below for more details.