We're actually, miraculously, finally nearing the end of the construction of the new, earthquake-safe, eastern span of the Bay Bridge, and CalTrans is starting to talk about how long they'll need to close the whole bridge down to complete the final steps of construction — promised to be about 360 days from now, around Labor Day 2013.

So yeah, a year, not that close, but still! How many years have you lived here? How long have you been hearing news items about the planning and various missteps surrounding this project? Praise the lord it's winding down.

CalTrans is saying that they may need about five days to do all the work of switching the roadway over to the new span and connecting it with the tunnel on Yerba Buena island. So, the impact for commuters could feel sort of long, since Labor Day is usually just a three-day weekend. In any event, everyone will deal. And let's cross our fingers the earthquake doesn't hit before then. Yes, we said it. Sorry.

[CBS]