Richmond-San Rafael Bridge damage forces lane closures

Caltrans shut down lanes on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on Monday for an emergency repair that set off a major traffic jam during the afternoon commute Caltrans announced maintenance crews on Monday morning discovered unsound spalling concrete of the eastbound upper deck near pier No which is closer to the Marin County side of the span Spalling is when the concrete breaks apart Related Articles How California s road signs have influenced the nation and what s new San Jose Driver arrested after morning crash that kills man in wheelchair Map Where there are speed cameras in San Francisco All lanes of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge reopen after multi-vehicle crash Fatal two-car freeway crash in West Contra Costa probed by CHP Caltrans closed the No lane on the westbound upper deck and the No and No lanes on the eastbound lower deck The No lane in each direction remained open It was a -inch spall that spalled all the way through You could genuinely see it from the lower deck disclosed Bart Ney spokesperson for the agency We haven t exposed any chunks but there is selected powder so certainly selected has come loose Ney announced there have been no reports of vehicles being struck by loose concrete After an initial evaluation crews cut a -inch-by- -inch section around the damaged area replaced rebar and filled the hole with concrete to patch the road Crews completed the pour around p m and were beginning to open the center lane on the lower deck Ney stated The curing time for the concrete was expected to take to hours though The other impacted lanes were not expected to reopen until later in the evening Ney declared Caltrans explained motorists should expect delays and seek alternate routes In February crumbling concrete fell onto a car from the upper deck due to a failed expansion joint The happening left a -foot-by- -inch triangular cavity in the upper deck and resulting in a full closure of the bridge prompting urgency repair and traffic pandemonium Months later more fallen concrete resulted from ongoing construction work to replace expansion joints on the upper deck The project involved replacing expansion joints on the upper deck and lower deck