Lanes are shut down on both levels of the Bay Bridge, adding to your list of APEC inconvenience grievances, and further closures Wednesday will muck up Bay Bridge traffic even more.

If you drove on the Bay Bridge Tuesday, then you got APEC’ed, and the hassles will only accelerate Wednesday. KRON4 reports that Bay Bridge closures for APEC went into effect Tuesday morning, closing one lane of the bridge in either direction. Heading eastbound on I-80 toward Oakland, the far-left lane is closed, and heading westbound on I-80 toward San Francisco, the far-right lane is closed. These lanes will stay closed until 9 p.m. Friday night, one of the many APEC street closures that will make San Francisco traffic higgedly-piggedly for the remainder of the week.

This is apparently being done for security reasons — allowing there to be a lane free in each direction for emergencies.

And for what it’s worth, up in Sausalito, the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp at the H. Dana Bowers Memorial Vista Point is also closed now and remains so through Saturday. Yes, there are even APEC street closures in Sausalito!

And it only gets worse Wednesday. The eastbound I-80 off-ramp at Fourth Street will be closed, as will the westbound I-80 off-ramp at Fifth Street off-ramp. That closure starts at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, and remains in effect until 9 p.m. Friday night.

“We understand that these closures may cause temporary inconvenience, but they are essential to help ensure the safety and security of this significant event and to promote immediacy and availability for emergency response,” Caltrans said in a statement to KRON4. “We encourage you to plan your travels accordingly, allow extra time for your commute and consider using alternate routes or public transportation during this period.”

These closures are intended to allow emergency vehicles to get through quickly should that need arise. But some people may have other ideas.

As the Chronicle notes in their slew of APEC news updates, traffic “got off to an excruciatingly slow start” when the changes took effect at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, but traffic rebounded to normal by 9:15 a.m. (likely as most commuters were at work by then). But it’s fair to say that Bay Bridge rush hour traffic will be pretty hairy Tuesday afternoon, and also during the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday commute hours.

And don't forget, the Chron reminds us that Wednesday brings the “vehicle exclusion zone” to areas bounded by Market, Harrison, Second and Fifth streets.

As seen below, if you had “APEC disrupts Lil Uzi Vert concert” on your 2023 bingo card, head on up to the host’s table and collect your Dollarita voucher.

Also, it should be noted, the Warriors are playing at Chase Center tonight and Thursday, and The Fugees — with Lauryn Hill! — are playing the venue Friday.


Related: APEC Summit Will Close Freeway Ramps, All Streets Around Moscone Center, and Central Subway for Six Days [SFist]

Image: High quality stock photo of the San Francisco Bay Bridge and San Francisco from Treasure Island California in the day time. (Getty Images)