Steel plates increasing traffic woes on the Richmond Bridge

QI have been commuting over the Richmond Bridge since 1997. The morning commute is horrendous due to the steel plates causing everyone to slow down to 20 mph; the backup is now 5 miles. If anyone thinks the shoulder driving is bad now, wait until the bike lane comes into use. Every fender bender will cause traffic to come to a standstill until it’s cleared.

I am a nurse and work the graveyard shift at an Oakland hospital. What used to be a 35-minute trip home is now 1½ hours. I am fed up with this!

AI gather that. And next person is also fed up.

QThey are killing us with these silly plates on the Richmond Bridge! Everyone slows way down and the backup is huge. Doubles or almost triples my commute time to San Rafael from El Cerrito from 25-30 minutes to 50-80 minutes now.

They have got to do something. Flatter plates? Remove the warning

Qsigns because people actually can drive over them at decent speeds. Warning signs scare everyone.

AI wish I had better news, but you have several more weeks to deal with current bridge repairs, which likely means several more weeks of this mess. More work could occur next year. The warning signs will stay.

To open the shoulder to commuter traffic on the Richmond Bridge is ridiculous. What if you get a flat tire on that bridge, and you can’t drive anymore, where are you supposed to stop, in the middle of the lane you’re in so someone can hit you from behind?

People who complain about traffic should leave earlier for work, then there will be less traffic, or find alternate ways to go on the bridge. Opening the shoulder just because there’s a lot of traffic is stupid. I’ve seen a lot of idiots out here on the Washington Beltway drive on the shoulder to pass traffic way past the speed limit.

I had a guy one morning pass me on the shoulder going at least 80.

AThat gives me a case of the hives. Robert is a former San Jose resident.

QWhen the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge opened in 1956, traffic could use all three lanes in both directions. I should know. I walked partway across on opening day with my family and a friend.

It wasn’t until a drought in the late 1970s that a lane was closed off to build a temporary pipeline to provide emergency water to Marin County. Only after that have the lane configurations been changing.

AYour memory is spot on.