Caltrans will close the westbound Interstate Highway 580 connector leading to the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge Saturday night for emergency replacement of an "attenuator" smart safety crash cushion there in the MacArthur Maze, starting at 10 p.m., with a planned reopening by 7 a.m. Sunday.
These "attenuator" devices, anchored to the roadside guard rails, are designed to stop out-of-control vehicles with the force and resistance needed - with smaller or slower vehicles, less resistance is provided than for larger vehicles or vehicles moving faster.
As part of this cushion replacement work, the connectors from westbound State Highway 24 to both the eastbound and westbound I-580 will be closed, as will the ramp from eastbound Interstate Highway 80 to West MacArthur Boulevard. Motorists will be able to access eastbound 24 from westbound I-580.
Here are some options to reach the Bay Bridge or other desired routes, depending on what roadway you're on:
- From westbound I-580, take the eastbound Interstate Highway 80 ramp (Emeryville area leading to Berkeley) and exit at Powell Street; left turn onto Powell Street; sharp right onto West Frontage Road; turn right to enter the WB I-80 on ramp to continue on to the Bay Bridge.
- From westbound West MacArthur Boulevard, continue to Hollis Street and turn right onto Hollis; make a left turn onto 40th Street, which will become Shellmound Street in Emeryville. Turn left onto Shellmound Way, then left onto Christie Avenue, then right onto Powell Street to enter eastbound I-80.
- From westbound 24, continue to southbound Interstate Highway 980 and exit at 27th Street/West Grand Avenue exit. Enter Northgate Avenue, turn right on West Grand Avenue; proceed on Grand Avenue to enter the eastbound I-80 onramp to reach westbound I-580.
