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Bridge debut marred by
construction snafu, gridlock
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A weekend party to celebrate the new Carquinez bridge turned into a nasty hangover this morning after a construction snafu snarled traffic in one of the worst back-ups in recent history. Caltrans opened the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge to the first vehicle at 6:30 a.m. -- a blue SUV -- but crews later reduced westbound Interstate 80 in Vallejo from three lanes to one as motorists approached the bridge. Traffic quickly backed up and trapped the contractor's asphalt pavement delivery trucks, which prevented workers from completing and opening the two remaining lanes until early afternoon. The situation grew so dire Caltrans dispatched California Highway Patrol cars to extricate 12 asphalt trucks from the gridlock and escort them to the construction site. Motorists were stranded for hours on Interstate 80 and Vallejo streets. Commuters reported delays of four hours to travel less than 10 miles on I-80 from the Highway 37 interchange to Crockett. "Why did Caltrans divert traffic from the old bridge to the new bridge if they weren't ready?" said an angry Mark Appel of Benicia, who detoured onto Interstate 780 over the Benicia bridge. "This is a screw-up beyond belief. How could they have gotten it this wrong and this bad?" An equally furious Sarah Rosenberg, who commutes from Sacramento to Berkeley, said it took her 21/2 hours to travel four miles on Interstate 80. "I've never heard of a road that doesn't get paved at night when there is less traffic," Rosenberg said from her cell phone after she managed to shift onto Interstate 780. "I'm missing a meeting right now and I'm really angry." Crews did pave overnight, said Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney. Workers began restricting westbound traffic on the adjacent 1927 bridge starting at 6 p.m. Monday and "we worked all night," Ney said. Caltrans kept at least two lanes open as long as possible. At one point this morning, one lane of traffic flowed to the old bridge while a second lane directed vehicles to the new span. But to complete the final wedge of pavement leading to the new span, crews had to shut down the lane to the 1927 bridge. They needed the space for equipment and to apply the asphalt material, Ney said. The one-lane restriction was supposed to end by 8 a.m. at the latest. Caltrans also had counted on lighter Veteran's Day holiday traffic. But vehicles backed up for miles on Interstate 80 past Marine World while Vallejo streets turned into parking lots. Motorists missed meetings, funerals and airplanes. The gridlock prevented the contractor's asphalt trucks from reaching the site, where crews waited to apply the pavement, allow it cool, paint the stripes and glue down reflector tabs. "We knew it was going to be rough for a few hours, but we never expected it to take this long," Ney said. "In hindsight, we would have done things differently. But we thought we could get the work done in time." Reach Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-945-4773 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]. | |||||||||
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