Folsom Street Off-Ramp Closure Begins A Little Early

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority decided to move up its plans to close the off-ramp from westbound Interstate Highway 80 and the Bay Bridge to Folsom Street in San Francisco from Tuesday morning to Monday night.

The closure began at 11 p.m. Monday, according to SFCTA spokesman Eric Young. A media advisory from the agency initially said that the closure would start Tuesday morning.

The work will realign the off-ramp make it more pedestrian-friendly, but for drivers, the closure is going to be one more bump in the road of an already challenging commute.

“That’s just one more exit off of a freeway that’s closed, which creates more traffic,” said Scotch Haley, who commutes from Concord.

The heavily used Fremont-Folsom Street off-ramp is the first one for people crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.

“It is our hope that the backups won’t be too bad,” county transportation authority spokesperson Eric Young said, adding when it’s finished in March, the Folsom exit will run right next to the Fremont exit.

For now, there are alternatives. The Harrison exit ramp on the left side of the freeway will remain open. And the Fremont ramp will only be closed for a few hours at a time late at night.

Construction on the off-ramp project will last through March. More information about the $3.5 million off-ramp project can befound online at www.sfcta.org/FolsomRamp.

A 50-story residential tower – with 653 housing units, 177 of which will be classified as affordable – is planned for the site in the city’s Financial District.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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