Disruptions for Van Ness, Oakland BART over weekend

Getting around the Bay Area on a weekend is always a challenge, but two major closures will make this one a bigger- than- usual mess.

Drivers in San Francisco would be wise to steer around Van Ness Avenue at Geary Boulevard and Post Street, which will be closed for 72 hours starting early Friday and continuing through the weekend to allow for construction of a pedestrian tunnel for the new California Pacific Medical Center campus. It’s the second of three closures for the project.

BART riders in the East Bay will have to take a bus connection, which could add up to an hour to trips, between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations beginning at 7 p. m. Saturday and continuing all day Sunday — when the Oakland A’s have a home game.

Track maintenance

Service between those two stations will stop to allow crews to do major work on track and equipment in the area. It’s the second of as many as 12 weekend shutdowns on the line.

The Van Ness Avenue closure begins at 12: 01 a. m. Friday between Geary Boulevard and Post Street in both directions. It will reopen at 11: 59 p. m. Sunday. But Muni and Golden Gate Transit buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed access, and pedestrians will be permitted to use the sidewalk on one side of the street.

Detours will take drivers around the closure, primarily using recommended routes on Larkin, Franklin and Gough streets. Traffic control officers and flaggers will staff the detours. Parking restrictions will be in effect on Franklin and Gough streets.

The next, and final, closure of Van Ness is scheduled for Sept. 5. During the first closure, traffic was congested, but not gridlocked, as traffic control officers directed drivers around the barricaded streets.

During its weekend closures, BART officials are advising riders to avoid trips that include the closed stretch if at all possible. BART is replacing old and decaying railroad ties and worn rail that has forced it to slow trains traveling through the area.

Alerting A’s fans

BART officials have attempted to schedule most of the closures around major events at the O. co Coliseum and Oracle Arena, but Sunday is one of three games likely to be affected, said Alicia Trost, a BART spokeswoman.

“We’ve been working with the A’s to make sure their fans get the word,” she said. “But it’s going to be a problem for fans coming from the north.”