Commuters will not be able drive on the upper deck towards San Francisco during Presidents' Day Weekend due to construction. The closure will start at 8 p.m. Friday, February 17 and last through 5 a.m. Tuesday, February 21. What this means is that drivers won't be able to drive into San Francisco via the Bay Bridge. People can use a sundry of assorted options including BART, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, and the Dumbarton Bridge. Ferry service is another option. more ›

We here at SFist are raising the stakes for food porn by infusing our food photos with unadulterated city porn. Gratuitously indulgent food items, photographed (and eaten) in front of iconic San Francisco backdrops. Today's item: A Maple Bacon Breakfast Sausage Sandwich on the Ferry Plaza Embarcadero more ›

Leo Villareal, an international artist most famously known for inspired by the Eiffel Tower's twinkle wants to turn the West Span of the Bay Bridge in to an even larger, more sophisticated light show called the Bay Lights. The light sculpture, intended to commemorate the bridge's 75th anniversary (the diamond anniversary, you know) will incorporate 25,000 LED lights strung from the vertical support cables facing the city's northeast waterfront, making it visible to awestruck onlookers on the Embarcadero. more ›

Fans of overwater cycling or rollerblading to Treasure Island take note: the Bay Area Toll Authority will reveal possible plans for a pedestrian lane connecting the city's sidewalks and bike lanes to the in-progress Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge at a public hearing tonight. The proposals come two years after the Toll Authority told bike advocates they would look in to a few design options for the Western Span and 10 years after the idea first sprung up. more ›

Westbound traffic on the Bay Bridge is a veritable nightmare this morning after a four-vehicle crash occurred just after 6 a.m. An AC bus carrying passengers collided with three other cars, which ended up blocking the far westbound lane. Traffic, as of 8:30, is in shambles. The McArthur Maze is a mess, and even traffic on a Dumbarton Bridge is jammed due to commuters opting for another route. more ›

"There's Brooklyn Bridge, London Bridge, and the Bridge of San Luis Rey/But the only bridge, that's a real gone bridge/Is the bridge across the bay," killed Judy Garland in her epic concert at Carniege Hall. And, damn it, she was right. The Bay Bridge is a real gone bridge. It's fabulous. more ›

Ta-da! The behind schedule/ahead of schedule new Eastern span of the Bay Bridge gets its last piece of roadway installed today, marking a major milestone for the fancy new Chinese-built connection between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island. Controversial Bay Area mayors Ed Lee and Jean Quan will be in attendance to celebrate the final piece of the roadway puzzle at 10 a.m. this morning. Bridge commuters, don't expect to be changing your traffic patterns just yet — the bridge doesn't open to traffic until the fall of 2013. more ›

Yes, we're all very excited for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge. It is surely a marvel of Chinese engineering that now looks glorious in the twilight hours and there's a strong chance it could be standing completed and erect in time for the America's Cup in 2013. Unfortunately, the clunky old cantilevered eyesore next to it could be sticking around for a few years longer. more ›

The currently-under-construction eastern span of the Bay Bridge gets a little more photogenic tonight: Caltrans will be lighting up the orange catwalks they've installed to prepare for the installation of the bridge's main suspension cable sometime in 2012. Although the lights are going up so construction crews can work at night, they ought to give nighttime drivers and people with enviable apartment views a good idea of what the completed bridge will look like at night. more ›

SFist gets word today of a surprise sobriety checkpoint on the Folsom Street on-ramp to the Bay Bridge last night around 10 p.m. CHP officers were reportedly not forcing everyone out of their cars, but making drivers lean out their windows, look into their mag lights, and follow a finger with only their eyes. more ›

An unidentified man, who is described as being in his 40s, reportedly stopped his car in the middle of traffic on the westbound side of the Bay Bridge this afternoon at about 2:45 p.m. Witnesses say he then jumped the rail and climbed onto the ledge of the upper deck of the bridge's western span, near the far right lane, just past the Treasure Island exit. more ›

Two lanes of traffic just before the Bay Bridge tunnel are closed after a truck carrying sand spilled its contents. Traffic, which we can see outside the windows of SFist headquarters, is frighteningly backed up. more ›

Several commuting friends of ours have noted that traffic getting into the city over the Bay Bridge is quite light most mornings lately around 8 a.m., and now the Chron informs us that it's official: For the first time in 28 years the Bay Area does not rank among the Top 5 worst cities for traffic in the 2010 Urban Mobility Report (published annually by the Texas Transportation Institute. more ›

Construction work continues smoothly on the new Bay Bridge today as seen from Treasure Island. more ›

Another major part of the new Bay Bridge tower starting going up on Wednesday. According to San Jose Mercury News, "Crews on Wednesday began hoisting the giant steel pieces that will make up the third of the 535-foot tower's four legs" Ideally, the work will be done by Sunday. Fingers crossed. more ›

Around 7:10am during this morning's commute, a heavyset man in a Black SUV called in to the KCBS traffic tipline to alert them to a potential traffic jam: his own vehicle he had pulled over on the westbound deck of the Bay Bridge. According to reports the man explained he was armed and his vehicle was carrying explosives along with his 16-year-old daughter he was holding as a hostage. A negotiator was requested to speak to the man, described by CHP as "truly mentally unstable," as he exited the vehicle and threatened to jump off the bridge. more ›

Toll hikes on Bay Area bridges take effect today, with the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond, and San Mateo bridges going up to $5, and the Bay Bridge getting a unique and confusing sliding scale toll which starts at $4 for off-peak hours on weekdays, $5 on Saturdays and Sunday, and $6 during commute hours, 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 on weekdays. Also, carpooling is no longer free, and will cost $2.50 -- Fastrak required. more ›

A fiery crash this morning on the eastbound, lower deck of the Bay Bridge snarled up traffic for a couple of hours but has now been cleared. more ›

No more free rides for carpoolers, kids. Crossing the Bay Bridge and other spans, if you've got three or more passengers, will be going from $0 to $2.50 on July 1, and the Golden Gate Bridge people are considering a similar hike that would charge carpoolers $3, because the Golden Gate just has to be 50 cents more special. more ›

511 reports that an accident, which includes an oil spill of some sort occurred a little after 10 a.m. today. "Severe traffic alert & Accident with injuries & Oil spill on I-80 W Westbound after Bay Bridge - Toll Plaza (Oakland) Right lanes blocked. Consider using alternate routes." (via SFGate) more ›

At around 5:45 a.m. this morning, "a power outage left a portion of the Bay Bridge and a swath of San Francisco's South of Market District in the dark early this morning." It seems, according to BCN (via SF Appeal), "a section of underground cable failed near the intersection of Second and Harrison streets." (SFist HQ, thank God, was left unscathed.) While most of the power has since been restored, the Bay Bridge is still sans electricity. more ›

On this seemingly sluggish news day, local MSM outlets are all aflutter over cranes under a bridge. more ›

Starting July 1, a $6 toll will get you across the bridge during rush hour, with no discount for FaskTrak. This comes out to $500 more a year for commuters. This recent toll hike comes after a drop in revenue because, awesomely, people are choosing public transportation over driving. more ›

Higher toll fees and the death of free carpooling is one step closer to being a reality, folks. Alas. more ›

In lieu of shutting down the entire span of the Bay Bridge, the California Department of Transportation decided to close lanes to repair the crippled eyebar. more ›

One lane on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge was shut down during this morning's commute due to a dangling wire. But have no fear, the wire, which is used to power lights in the tunnel, is not a symptom of the bridge's structural integrity, or lack thereof. more ›