Get ready for significant holdups and delays if you're driving into San Francisco from the East Bay for the next ten weeks. A project to replace deteriorating joints in the upper deck of the western span will be closing lanes from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday-Saturday for at least that long, maybe longer.

Caltrans spokesman Bob Haus says that there are six deteriorating joints that need to be fixed, running between Spear and Beale Streets. Officials have known that the joints, which date back to the Bridge's original construction, have needed to be replaced since 2010, but didn't really get on the stick until a hole opened up around one of the joints in April and crews had to make emergency repairs. Yeah, that'll do it.

Up to four lanes of the bridge will be closed during the overnight hours, but at least one lane will be open at all times, Haus promised. This should go on for 60 working days, though weather delays (we are getting into the rainy season) would extend the project.

Before you trip out too much over this plan, remember the alternative: nasty steel plates that snarled traffic for a couple of days in October, before Caltrans suspended the work and sought a better solution.

Back in October, steel plates were placed over the joints during daytime hours when crews couldn’t work. What happened then, CBS5 reports, "was that motorists would drive over the first plate, and then slow down significantly as they approached the second one," holding up rush hour traffic and making drivers miserable.

The solution is apparently rapid-set concrete that can be installed and set in hours, which means no plates.

"Then we can go ahead and get in there, do the job in one night and go ahead and be done by morning," Haus told ABC7.

The downside to this plan, besides the lane closures, is that rapid-set concrete is harder to work with and costs way more — about a million more than oficials were originally planning on spending.

However, Haus said, "We think it is worth the extra cost just for the lack of traffic congestion." Here's hoping he's right.