Drivers will be forced to slow down on bridge
April 9, 2009
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| Old and new: Bay Bridge traffic will be diverted to a new temporary portion which will connect to the existing span. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Drivers with lead feet beware: The speed limit will be dropping on one section of the Bay Bridge.
The limit will fall from 50 mph to 40 mph on a half-mile section just east of Yerba Buena Island until 2013, when the new eastern-span project is set to be completed.
The change will take effect as soon as the construction of a temporary detour on the eastern span is completed. Caltrans plans to close the Bay Bridge to traffic for three or four days during Labor Day weekend in order to complete the work.
Motorists driving both directions across the span will be warned of the changes with signage and clear markings on the roadway, said Sgt. Trent Cross, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.
The speed reduction is necessary because the new bypass east of Yerba Buena Island includes a curve in the roadway that could be dangerous for drivers, Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney said. The bridge is one of the nation’s busiest, with an estimated 280,000 daily vehicle crossings.
Some drivers may see the slower limit as a speed trap, while others may question how the California Highway Patrol will be able to enforce the new limit.
Ney said the limit shouldn’t be considered a speed trap. Caltrans set the limit at the recommendation of a road design engineer.
“It’s about safety,” he said.
Cross disputed reports of a lack of traffic enforcement on the bridge. He said officers aggressively monitor bridge traffic and would continue to do so when the speed limit is reduced.
There are places where the CHP can conduct radar enforcement, he said, adding that officers driving patrol cars can also trail another vehicle, matching its speed, in order to enforce the limit.
Drivers who go easy on the gas could also save a few dollars. Driving at lower speeds reduces gas consumption and emissions, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph, according to a report in the DOE Web site.
“You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas,” the report says.
