Tonight is start of a planned five-day closure on a stretch of northbound Interstate Highway 280 in San Francisco for a construction project.
The highway closure between the U.S. Highway 101/Highway 280 interchange and downtown San Francisco will begin at 9 p.m. and is slated to last throughout the Fourth of July holiday weekend until 5 a.m. Monday, according to Caltrans officials.
The closure is the second of three planned this year to give crews time to replace bridge hinges on the highway, according to Caltrans.
This particular closure is for work on a hinge on northbound I-280 between Cesar Chavez and 24th streets.
The on-ramps that will be closed for the next five days are Alemany Boulevard, the Highway 101 connector to northbound I-280, Indiana Street and 18th Street.
Southbound I-280 will remain open and motorists are advised to use Highway 101 as an alternative route.
A third I-280 closure is planned for the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to Caltrans.
Those living near the closed stretch of highway should expect some loud sounds for the next few days while crews demolish concrete around the old bridge hinge, remove those pieces and install a new hinge.
According to Caltrans, the three hinges that are being replaced during the shutdowns allow the two parts of a bridge on the highway to expand and contract during strong movements like an earthquake.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
