BART closing Transbay Tube this weekend, here’s why

The San Francisco Bay Ferry will be doubling its usual weekend service on the Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco route and enhance service on the Vallejo/San Francisco route, according to San Francisco Bay Ferry officials.

For those who do need to cross the bay a fleet of more than 80 buses from various Bay Area transit agencies will be available to shuttle riders between the 19th Street station in Oakland and the temporary Transbay Terminal in San Francisco. The final closure for repairs will be Labor Day weekend. A Taxi driver named Hakim Ahmed is one of the few people who look back fondly at the traffic mess created by the BART strike and he’s looking forward to this weekend when BART closes the Transbay Tube.

Access to the West Grand Avenue on-ramps to Interstate Highway 580 will be restricted to buses only, CHP officials said in a statement.

Even so, BART officials warn that delays could add an hour or more to journeys, reports SF Gate.

As far as the schedule, Franklin said the buses will leave “every 45 seconds” or as soon as they fill up.

Free bus services are being provided to BART passengers who need to travel across the Bay Bridge on the two weekends, according to Huckaby.

“Just take BART and we will direct you”, Franklin said.

The Transbay Tube, which runs from the West Oakland station to the Embarcadero station, has not had any major maintenance in about 40 years.

For riders, there will be extra ferry service, more frequent BART trains system wide, and AC Transit buses will have Transbay service. However, BART officials estimate taking the bus bridge will be one to two hours longer than the regular BART commute and that the bus bridge is intended only as a last resort for those with no other options. The exact cost is to be determined, according to Franklin.

The.46-mile section of track, known as the interlocking, will receive a complete rebuild that will allow for single tracking of trains in alternate directions. BART has been trying to alert riders of the major closure.

Other tasks such as inspection of tracks and traction power cables, cleaning of the third rail insulators, and servicing of equipment will also be conducted, Allison said.