If you're planning a Labor Day cookout, you may want to consider stocking up on sleeping bags for your guests visiting from across the bay.
BART is planning to halt all train service between San Francisco and the East Bay during two weekends this summer: Aug. 1-2 and the Labor Day weekend of Sept. 5-7. The transit agency says major track maintenance is needed near the West Oakland station, just outside the Transbay Tube, where the tracks are reportedly more than 40 years old.
BART plans to set up a bus bridge to cart passengers between West Oakland and San Francisco, and other public transportation systems are making arrangements to adjust service. BART is set to hold a news conference next week to announce the final closure schedule and alternative transportation options.
The last time riders were unable to cross under the Bay was for a very different reason -- the BART strikes of 2013. That disruption to weekday service caused a 45-minute wait for drivers to cross the Bay Bridge.
These disruptions are planned for weekends that have historically had lower ridership. But a Billy Joel concert at AT&T Park on Sept. 5 could pose a traffic nightmare for fans who may find themselves singing, "But I'm taking an A.C. Transit Bus, on the scenic Trans Bay Line, I'm in a Bay Bridge state of mind."