>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news this is a picture from the first morning commute bay area has to manage without the bay bridge is underway on the left with the new span they hope to open in a few days and on the right, in the middle of the screen in the dark is where the old section of the bay bridge would have been showing no commuter traffic and the bridge closed but crews are busy working to transition from the old span to the any span as soon as possible. thanks for joining us. >> we went on at 4:00 this morning because of the importance of what is going on. we will tomorrow, as well. more bridge news. >> hundreds of crews are working to get the new bridge open. the old span, bay area commuters

have been using it since the 1930's, is closed. we have coverage going with matt keller on the oakland side of the bridge. >> next to the toll plaza at 200 yards away i step out the way and you can see the work being done on the bridge. the work during closure has to do with grinding and striping which takes time to cure and dry. the new span needs to be connected to land on the oakland side and the tunnel on the with the side. the challenging roth is demolition of the old westbound upper deck on the oakland side so the bicycle path can be connected. there is a final touch with birds nesting on the old bridge so boxes were the on the newen into. >> we put steel american platforms to entice the birds over to make their home under the new bridge. >> when it is done driving on the new bridge will be a

different experience. the eastbound and westbound decks are side-by-side rather than stacked and the driving expense is much more open. on opening day there will be two miles worth of rail to guide you while the old bridge is standing . without the bay bridge, how are folks doing right now? you can expect some places to be busier. leyla gulen? >> so far we are looking at a slight buildup of traffic. it is quiet and early but if you do have a plight to catch at sfo from the east bay you will want to give yourself the extra bit of time and arrive an hour ahead of your flight schedule so give yourself an extra hour to get yourself from the east bay and toward the airport. we have construction in some places and this will last until 5:00, westbound 24 is where we will see a couple of lanes

blocked. it is not slowing things down so you are in good shape to 580 or the nimitz to make it to oakland and toward the san mateo bridge. we have a live picture of the bridge and this is walnut creek so 680 if you need to make it through 680 toward pleasanton hill to walnut creek you are looking at clear conditions and slight buildup of traffic but we are in good shape. mike nicco has more on the weather. >> good morning, everyone, we have a little bit of a wind and it is blowing on shore and it is bringing more clouds to our neighborhoods but any organized rain is not out there but you will run into patchy drizzle headed through the morning commute especially the closer you are to the bay and to the coast. we are going to have a lot of sunshine. it will take an hour longer to develop.

the coast in san francisco is partly sunny. especially on the coast side. we will see more sunshine downtown. you will reach 69 and on coast at 63. 81 in san jose and petaluma and 89 in the east bay valley. kristen and eric? >>guest: bart is on a 24 hour schedule to take up some of the slack from the bay bridge closure and adding extra cars to the trains running today. abc7 news reporter has a look at how it is going. katie? >> good morning, i have been downstairs and talked with the bart employees at the station one of 14 bart stations running trains 24 hours, once an hour, overnight. the bart workers say the overnight trains were not crowded by any stretch so there is a tip tomorrow if you want to get up really early, overnight they were not crowded but they

were saying it is worth it to run the trains. this video is from the crush of a commute last night as people took advantage of taking bart home after the bridge closed. bart now is on a regular service starting at 4:00 this morning and the last time the bay bridge was shut down was labor day weekend of 2009 when the trains were packed and bart says they had 230,000 more riders that weekend an increase 30 percent compared to the labor day weekend of the year before. we will see a lot more riders coming up. to ease the load bart is running longer trains during the extra overnight hours and throughout. trains continue only through sunday, not monday into tuesday. check the schedule and plan accordingly. >> we have details on the transit alternatives to get an

the bridge closing at abc7news.com if you need to drive. our app will help you see where the worst problems are with the bridges busier than normal. >> our engineer is driving around briefing high school traffic updates. dick, you have been driving north on 880. where are you now? >> kristen, i am coming up to the 880/80 split. c.h.p. and caltran have the exit lanes pinched off. you can see a caltran vehicle, a c.h.p. vehicle and necessity have that section of roadway closed that normally is the exit lane to set up to go to highway 80 westbound into san francisco. it is closed now and will be closed until the bridge opens. so far my heaviest spot i have

seen on my right i have taken 101 southbound from sfo to 92, over 92 over the san mateo bridge and the san mateo bridge was the heaviest as well as southbound 880 heavier than normal but the ride eastbound over 92 over the san mateo bridge and the ride northbound on will -- 880 has been moving at speed limit. >> will you turn around and go back down the san mateo or head up to the richmond and san rafael and cross the golden gate bridge? >> i think i will head up to the richmond-san rafael over to marin and down on the golden gate bridge but stay tuned for updates. that is a fluid situation and that is my plan. >> dick, thank you. >> the san francisco chamber of commerce hopes not too many small businesses will be hurt by

the bridge shut down. a barber at the hotel at union square some the east bay customers have canceled because of the closing and says he is self employed so he is not cutting hair, he is not making money. the chamber of commerce hopes bart keeps people coming into the city. >> the last call on the original span crossed the bridge after 8:00 and a vintage 1930 ford model a crossed two minutes after the closure was in effect. the driver called the toll authority this week to see if he and his friends could be the last were withs over but bob was the only one who showed up and his car was escorted across by tow trucks and the bridge was declared "free of people and cars" before 8:30. we have live coverage throughout the next 5 1/2 days with briefings from caltran two times each day during the shutdown. we will be live at 3:00 on

monday for the chain-cutting ceremony and our twitter followers will know the moment the new bridge opens follow us at abc7 news bay area. >> we saw dick a couple of minutes ago traffic is heavier than normal but not many trouble spots. >> we imagine that will change. the traffic build up this morning with traffic from leyla gulen. >> so far, so good. we are looking at clear conditions and starting to see a buildup of traffic. over the altamont pass, if you travel 580 from the central valley to livermore you could see extra brake lights but it is moving along. headed over the san mateo bridge or dumbarton the richmond-san rafael bridge all is looking clear and we have a picture of the golden gate bridge and we will look at our dry time traffic and if you are headed out of hayward to foster city only 13 minutes over the golden gate bridge from san rafael the entire stretch is under 20

minutes and 580 is also under 15 minutes so you are looking clear. this is the golden gate bridge and there are low clouds and fog and traffic is running smoothly and we had an early report of a big rig at the toll blocking one lane and that has been cleared. >> good morning, everyone, we will start with a picture of a quiet western section of the bay bridge and the clouds are not so low as word but they are out had and more widespread. because they are going to peel away slowly they will keep the temperatures close to normal and compared to our average highs we are within one or two degrees everywhere. the next 12 hours on the day planner, mist and fog and drizzle and warmer this morning upper 50's to low 60's through 7:00 and at noon it will not be so bright around san francisco and oakland and berkeley where the clouds will linger and 66 at the coast and 78 inland and all dealing with sunshine but the coast at 4:00 county sunny and

66 and mid-70's to mid-80's around the bay and low-to-mid 60's around the coast with sunshine around the bay at 7:00 can clouds are returning and 76 and quiet inland. the next they days, bother nature is teasing us tomorrow with a warming trend because it gets cooler saturday, sunday and on the holiday, monday. >> firefighters are making problem in will i don't the rim fire in the sierra. the major operation underway to stop the progress. >> a warning to uc berkeley students as classes are underway to. >> our come of the bay bridge closure continues and this is work going on right now on left side to connect the new eastern span of the toll

>> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news, a live picture from oakland at the bart station outside where it is not too busy right now but expect it to be more so as users of the bay bridge will town to the bart station to get into san francisco. bart had overnight service and now on regular service with longer trains. >> many of us will join the first morning commute following the bay bridge closure. we will take you outside for up-to-the-minute traffic conditions from the road. our engineer is using cell seven technology at the 85/80 split. dick what is going on? >> i altered my course and flipped around at university avenue to give you a look at the closure. this is the closure westbound 80

at 580 where you would normally be exiting to go over the san francisco and oakland bay bridge and you can see on the right-hand side of the shot you can see the cones are out, the exits are closed, all three lanes are to go over the san francisco and oakland bay bridge are closed and the only lanes that are open are the three lanes that continue southbound 880 that take you to 58024 so the highway 80 three exit lanes to set up to go over the san francisco and oakland bay bridge are pinched off. i can report that so far the traffic has been heavier than normal but has been moving at the speed limit so, so far, so good but i am sure that picture changes. eric? >> here's the early birds. a lot of people in the bay area feeling nostalgic for the old bay bridge and its history.

look at some of our viewers have found in their homes during a construction project. these pictures from the "san francisco chronicle" in november of 1937, where the bay bridge was just a year old and if you have historic pictures of the bridge to share e-mail them to us. >> to echo leyla gulen, so far so good. leyla gulen, where are the volumes building? >> slowly building at highway 4, traveling through antioch, a lot of people are leashing early for the labor day weekend and before the weekend it is thursday and we do not see the usual traffic from a normal thursday. from antioch to pittsburg we are at top speed at 56 miles per hour. headed over the altamont pass, over 580 from tracy, into livermore, you can see yellow is

building and that means more volume but still moving. mass transit is the way around the closure of the bay bridge you are looking at everything running on time. you are in good shape. >> good morning, everyone, live doppler 7 hd shows the clouts are lowering right now and so far visibility is okay at seven miles at half moon bay. yes, the ceiling is coming down but we do not have obstruction with the fog. there is mist and drizzle around san francisco if you head into town portrero hill is 57, the cool spot, and forest hills is 58 and everyone else is 60 to 61 blue are coming from the ferry building, or christie field, across the golden gate bridge or up from the south, everyone is detroit around that sector -- 60 or 61.

saratoga is 65. walnut creek is 62. american canyon is 60. 60 at petaluma. the camera in downtown san francisco shows the clouds lingering. the warmest day is tomorrow. cloud cover is extensive through 7:00 and through 11:00 the east bay and the south bay are clearing up with clouds lingering around the bay and marin county. to 1:00 o'clock or 2:00, you are cleared and we will see a few holes in the cloud cover throughout the day moving across from northbound to southbound at our beaches. today, upper 70's to low 80's and los gatos and gilroy, they are in the mid-to-upper 80's and a little bit warmer at 76 in san mateo to 80 in redwood city and 72 at millbrae and mid-to-upper 60's along the coast and

pacifica and daly city at 64 and near 70 downtown and south san francisco and sausalito at 72 and the beaches in the mid-60's and valleys in the low-to-mid 80's along the east bay shore we go from 72 at berkeley and oakland is 74 and castro valley is 80 and the east bay valley we have mid-to-upper 80's and close to 90 at brentwood and antioch. tonight the temperatures are a degree or two cooler than this morning with mid-to-upper 50's in the north bay valley and upper 50's to 60's for the rest of us. our seven-day forecast shows tomorrow up to four to five degrees warmer than today and we lose all of that and saturday our temperatures are coolest sunday and monday at 5 to 10 degrees cooler. >> firefighters will use large-scale backfire prayings to battle the sierra fire burning near and into yosemite national park. the fire has blackened 192,000 acres making it the 6th

largest in california history. officials state rate of the fire spread has slowed crediting cooler temperatures, lighter wind and higher relative humidity in helping crews. the fire now is 30 percent contained with full containment september 10. >> a warning for uc berkeley students ahead the first day of class. a 20-year old student was robbed of her cell phone outside dorms on monday night. police say a teen came up from behind, pushed the victim and grabbed her phone. he ran away and is not caught. the student was shaken but otherwise okay. >> you may find service slower today at your favorite fast food restaurant. >> the new study that my have you eating a lot more fruit.

>> the bay bridge is closed right now. it closed last night. here is a picture of the bay bridge toll plaza. you can see only work vehicles, caltran crews, et cetera, trying to get the transition to the new span done as quickly as possible. you will have to find an alternate route if the bay bridge is your normal commute. >> we are checking out the alternate commutes to bring you a look at traffic conditions. use engineer is on the move near the macarthur maze and you are by yourself?

>> it is a lonely ride so far out here but i am turning around here and i am currently at the macarthur maze. the 24/580 interchange coming in to show you the closure on your ride in from the walnut creek or the a 80 area i am right now at the split of 80 as it goes westbound into san francisco and 80/580 eastbound into emeryville and berkeley and the lanes on my left are closed off which normally are the lanes you would be in getting ready to go over the san francisco bay bridge. the only option is eastbound 80/580 to go toward berkeley or, pole, the richmond-san rafael bridge. that is where i am heading the

richmond-san rafael bridge. >> thank you, dick. >> that was your commute, mike, how long did it take? >> another...30 minutes. >> that is what folks can be spenting and probably worse of a delay if you leave hate. >> absolutely. get an early start. that is the name of the game. as we look at your drive through berkeley headed away from 580 you can see we have top speeds, 73 miles per hour and you get down to emeryville you are moving along fine everything is clear through oakland and to the south if you are needed to make it to the san mateo bridge you look clear. over the bridge you have drive time traffic taking you 13 minutes from hayward to foster city, 101 southbound over the

golden gate bridge is under 20 minutes so nothing has changed and 580 is what eric took westbound from richmond to san rafael under 15 minutes. our san rafael drive if you need to make it down to 580 and sausalito toward the golden gate bridge you can see more traffic than normal but everyone is moving along. mike nicco has the weather. >> here is a look at the western span of the bay bridge. one listenly police officer making sure no one holds east to treasure island. this is the back drop for our temperatures, fremont is up three degrees. concord and san francisco and hose are same. oakland and santa rosa a couple of degrees cooler. poor air quality in tuolumne through noon tomorrow.

very unhealthy situation there. same thing to a lesser extent with dense smoke from mammoth to reno. there is flash flooding possible in the high desert and palm springs is 100 and 92 in sacramento and 79 in tahoe. >> how do fast food workers plan they will have a one hour strike for fast food restaurants locally, demanding $14 hour hourly minimum wage and a right to form unions. the fast food industry says raising wages drives up the cost of food by a third. >> parents, you hey want to skip the juice box this morning.

researchers say that eating your fruit is a lot better for you than drinking your fruit. 180,000 people were study asked those who had three servings of raw future decreased the risk of diabetes and those who had three senatorrings of fruit juice increased their risk. the best fruits are blueberries, grapes, and apples. >> it will be a challenging morning coping with the temporary closure of the bay bridge. at 5:00 we have coverage of the work underway right now to get the new span ready