San Mateo Bridge work ahead of schedule

Caltrans officials canceled a second closure of the San Mateo Bridge scheduled for next weekend after deciding Sunday that construction crews could complete all of their repairs by early Monday morning.

The 7-mile-long bridge between Foster City and Hayward, which carries about 92,000 vehicles each weekday, was expected to reopen on schedule at 5 a.m. Monday in time for the morning commute.

"That second weekend work, we were able to complete this weekend," said Traci Ruth, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

So instead of shutting down for a second weekend at 10 p.m. Friday, as it was last weekend, the San Mateo Bridge will remain open.

"There won't be any detours or any closures," Ruth said.

Caltrans officials decided Saturday night to try to complete the work in a single weekend after making more progress more quickly than expected. Workers removed and replaced decks on the part of the span between the elevated segment and the trestles, along with a cracked beam - part of an expansion joint - discovered during a routine inspection in October 2010. Caltrans performed emergency repairs on the bridge then, installing steel plates on both sides of the damaged joint.

Fixing it permanently will cost about $3 million, which will come from toll funds. Completing the work in a single weekend won't increase the cost, Ruth said.

The original plan was to complete repairs to the westbound section of the bridge last weekend and work on the eastbound section next weekend. The contractor replaced the westbound decks sooner than anticipated, so Caltrans engineers looked at the work that needed to be completed, decided it could be completed a little more quickly if done all at once, and figured it could be finished before the 5 a.m. Monday reopening.

Even rain, forecast to start late Sunday night, shouldn't slow construction, but Caltrans has contingency plans if the rains are heavier than anticipated, Ruth said.

The bridge closure failed to snarl Bay Area traffic over the weekend, despite the Big Game in Berkeley and the usual assortment of festivals around the region. Drivers were advised to use the Dumbarton Bridge or the Bay Bridge, which seemed to handle the increased traffic without unusual backups.

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San Mateo Bridge work ahead of schedule