Interstate 80 closure frustrates transbay commuters on holiday weekend
VALLEJO -- It's Labor Day weekend and a lot of Californians are expected to hit the road. In Vallejo, a complete shutdown of westbound Interstate 80 is making some put their holiday plans on hold.
All westbound traffic was stopped at the I-780 Interchange. Caltrans closed the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge in Vallejo for a major facelift. Caltrans will be paving miles of concrete, laying asphalt and making repairs on the bridge and beyond.
READ MORE: Major I-80 resurfacing closure underway in the Bay Area
CalTrans closed the freeway Thursday night and many in Vallejo say traffic has been a mess all day. The closure has impacted not only some people's holiday travel plans but also their ability to get to work.
The Willis family from Vallejo is doing what it can to avoid the traffic nightmare.
"As you can see, I went shopping. I'm home. Nothing. I will wait till Tuesday," Simone Willis said.
Alternate routes turned into parking lots, especially during the evening commute.
"It doesn't make sense. Who's making all these decisions?" Ricardo Willis, a delivery driver, wondered.
Willis was at the California-Oregon border Friday morning and rescheduled his deliveries for the day.
"When I got ready to come down to San Francisco, it would've added a two-hour delay for me so I had to change all my customer plans and deliver tomorrow," he said.
Another family came all the way from Texas to visit the Bay Area and got stuck right in the middle of the traffic chaos.
CalTrans says that, with the closure, it's compressing the equivalent of 106 nights of much-needed road work into four days.
Drivers understand the work needs to be done.
"I think it's needed. The roads do need the repair but I think they could've gone another way about fixing it during another time. During a holiday weekend? Hmmm," Willis said.
