In what was beginning to feel like a cruel joke to cyclists, Caltrans officially announced the opening of the final segment of the Bay Bridge Bike Path to Yerba Buena this Sunday at noon. The existing portion of the path opened on September 2013 with an original completion timeline of “1-2 years”. A series of delays ended up making it over three years.
The agency had been very non-committal on a precise date after receiving heavy-criticism for a series of delays before abruptly confirming the announcement that KQED leaked yesterday. Cyclists and Pedestrians will only have a day to preview the path though and it will not reopen until possibly November 5th (Sunday, October 30th is listed at “tentatively closed” according to their calendar below). The path will only be open on weekends as a safety precaution from debris and fumes from the ongoing demolition of the old Bay Bridge according to Caltrans. The path will close at 6pm and riders are encouraged to leave adequate time to make the return journey to the Emeryville and Oakland staging areas.
According to The East Bay Times, the projected suffered $24 million in cost overruns for redesigns, adjustments and repairs. $13.5 million of this went for additional work on the railing and $6.3 million went to construction and aesthetic changes during some of the final stages of construction.
Getting all the way to Treasure Island remains difficult as the new path terminates at the landing area at the end of the bridge. It is recommended that riders utilize the free shuttle that runs every thirty minutes and can accommodate up to 12 people and 8 bikes. The hazardous condition of Hillcrest Road that connects the two islands necessitated the need for this shuttle until the work by the SFCTA is complete. While Hillcrest does remain open to cyclists, it is not optimized for biking and not recommended for casual and family rides.
Caltrans is warning that there is no available parking on Yerba Buena and drivers will have to utilize their Bridge Yard building parking at 210 Burma Road. In addition, the long-awaited West-Bound on/off-ramps to and from the island will be opened offering relief from the current harrowing options.
The schedule below lists days which the bike path will be open to the public throughout the fall when it will be open from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Follow @BayBridgeInfo on Twitter for up to date information.
Post has been updated to note that Hillcrest is an option for bicyclists although not recommended for casual riders.
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So close…and yet so far…sigh…
We’ll see about that! I am sad it is closed weekdays! such a wonderful ride without the masses!