If you're Caltrans, a long weekend without a closure of 280 is like Crazy Crab without the Crazy — no fun at all. At least, that's what you might think from the many holiday closures we've seen this year, as the agency works to replace and reinforce aging hinges on the interstate. The upcoming closure might be even more of a pain than usual, as this time the shutdown begins right around the time many folks are hitting the roads for an extended holiday.
In this weekend's closure, northbound 280 from the 101/280 interchange all the way up to SoMa will be cleared of traffic while, Caltrans spokesperson Steven Williams says, two sections of the roadway, each about 24 feet wide, 48 feet long and 5 feet thick, will be removed. Those sections will be replaced with reinforced pieces as well as replacement hinges intended to strengthen the overpass in the case of things like, say, an earthquake.
According to Williams, the hinges 280 is rocking these days were designed in the 1960s and have needed replacement for at least seven years. He emphasized, however, that this plan was in place long before this Sunday's quake. "The good thing is we're not doing this as a reaction to (the earthquake that) happened last weekend," he told the Chron. "This is something that we've planned to do to keep people safe."
The new hinges, Caltrans engineer Andrew Yan tells Bay City News, will allow more room for the highway to sway horizontally in the case of a quake by creating a space between the sections, which lowers the possibility that the highway will collapse during shifts caused by seismic events.
Space-age padding will also be added to the inside of the overpass to absorb shocks should parts of the road mash together during an earthquake.
The shutdown of northbound 280 will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday and continue until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Everyone who'd be heading north on 280 at that time will be detoured to 101 instead, which should be fun.
