bridge, you can see all of marin county. the bridge is going to open tonight. we all assumed that would be the case. and here is how they will do it. they removed all the crews. they will make one final sweep and then the chp will make a security sweep. after that they will start to take down the cones and the chp will do traffic brakes. once the bridge is open the chp will escort the first cars over the bridge. the one thing they are not going to do is announce the time that they will open the bridge. the reason for that is they don't want people to be sitting on the side of the road hoping to be the first ones across the bridge. there is a celebration going on. you can't have a new bridge without a celebration. ktvu's ken pritchett is following that par-- following that part of the story.

ken? >> reporter: right now we are in a place where you wouldn't  want to be standing tonight. exact time unknown, in the traffic lanes in front of the toll plaza which will be busy tonight with traffic moving through when the bay bridge opens. what you see is a chain, that is for the chain cutting ceremony which we are waiting. it should have taken place already but it is delayed now. you got the chain out there. you see the bridge workers for who will -- workers there who will take part in the ceremony. they will use a torch to cut through the chain. we are waiting for all the politicians and the people who were involved in the project who were at a ceremony here at the toll plaza. they will make their way over here and be involved in this ceremony for the opening ceremony for the bridge here. in large part it was a muted

event at the celebration. it was not quite a party but there were people who were expressing relief this day has come and praising a one of a kind project. many pointed not to the high cost, the $6.4 billion, but many express relief the bridge will be capable of with standing a major earthquake. and they were not just talking about increased safety but on looking ahead, how not orepiece the process of this -- how not to repeat this process of the project. >> that i and everyone else will -- whenever 1 else will never have to be -- that i and everyone else will never have to be in fear driving across the

bridge. [ silence ] >> reporter: noticely absent from the celebration because noticeably absent from the celebration was governor jerry brown. he is out of the state. we are waiting for the people to walk over here. a few hundred yards away, for what will be a chain cutting ceremony and looks like people are getting lined up at this point where we will see in the center lane here they will have these workers here bringing over the torch to cut through the chain. this was supposed to take place earlier today at 4:30 p.m. this afternoon but that was delayed. we had a number of speakers at

the ceremony. of course, praising the design of this and remembering those who didn't -- who were part of the project who didn't live to see the completion. no one was killed in the completion of the bridge which is one thing they remarked on. when the previous bridge was built there were lives lost. but on this bridge there were no lives lost and that is something a number of people made note of. ahead of what is going to be the chain cutting ceremony here at the toll bridge plaza. >> reporter: snook see all of the cars -- something to see all of the cars over there. i know there are two fords and a 1937 buick and that was first car, same type of car to across the bridge in 1936 when it

first opened. [ silence ] >> reporter: we are having trouble with ken. before the cars cross the bridge there are going to be motorcycle officers from the chp, from opd and san francisco police department and i asked a chp, how did you decide who would go first, he said the sergeants because they are the highest ranking officers and after that the motorcycles are lined up by seniority. let me show you pictures from 1936. interesting pictures. there is a chain cutting tonight and the reason for that, it is the same with 1936. they cut a chain in 1936 to open the new bay bridge. california governor used a torch to cut through the chain and san francisco mare, and herbert hoover and the chief

engineer. and i was talking to a guy here earlier, she 93-1/2 years old. his name is pete. he was here in 1936. you may hear from him later. noelle walker is out here well. he said they jumped the gun. they started to walk over across the bridge before they finished cutting the chain and cutting the ribbon and they said they got as far as the tunnel and national guard members came up with their baenets and said get off the bridge. he said it was so much fun till they got to the national guard. let's go to treasure island with ktvu's tom vacar. you have been covering the project since it first began. exciting they will be opening it tonight. i am sorry, say that again? is tom ready? okay. tom, it is exciting they will be opening the bridge but we

knew they would open ahead of time. they always filled in extra time but everyone 82 it would be today -- knew it would be today. >> reporter: it may not have been planned that way but they needed the extra time of 24-30 hours and they needed it for a good reason. if something gone wrong they would have time to do something about that. lot of people said this has been vague about why they are doing that and one of the things that is important to understand, they have been vague for two very important reasons. one of which has to do with politics and the other is something important. >> reporter: we are in no danger of not making 5:00 a.m. on tuesday. >> reporter: if things sound iffy about when the bridge will open it is deliberate. >> work is wrapping up but

there is significant clean up to be done. >> reporter: it is vague because this is no an engineering project. been in the hands of politicians and that means whatever dig nutarries open it they are very much in charge. but what about when it opens to you? >> that decision hasn't been made as to whether it will open early and if so what time. >> reporter: that is all about safety. >> if we have that time announced the public may stack up before the closures to stop on the shoulders. all of those things are dangerous for the public. >> reporter: speaking about safety, police will lead the first waves of cars over the bridge. the chp promises an eagle eye on those who violate the 50 miles per hour speed limit. reporting live, tom vacar, ktvu

channel 2 news. >> reporter: all right. very good, tom. why this is taking so long. you can see these are the folks who are walking from a caltrans building across the way up to this ceremony that is going to be held at the tollbooth. that is why it is delayed. once things get started they should proceed. i want to give you more details on the opening of the bridge. tomorrow at noon bikers and pedestrians will be able to use the bridge for the first time ever. for now the path only leads up to the tower of the bridge because a section of the old bridge is in the way. but the rest of the path will be completed by 2015 when the old bridge is demolished. the chp and oakland police bike officers will be on parole and we should mention there is a speed limit, 15 miles per hour. they will be checking for that

and you could get a ticket on a bike if you are going over 15 miles per hour. >> reporter: sorry. sorry. we got so many different scripts here and the wind. i apologize here. wouldn't you know the wind would pick up as we go on. we should mention bart and ferries are running their expanded service. they are carrying record numbers of riders. 217,000 people road bart yesterday. that is the 7th hider ridership for a sunday. today trains are operating on saturday schedule. the special service ends at 2:00 a.m. the trains resume at 4:00 a.m. >> reporter: more than 8300 people road the ferry system yesterday. 3100 more than last sunday. san francisco bay ferry says its ridership was up over the

weekend as well. >> reporter: as we have been out here one thing we noticed is the weather has been nice. it is what caltrans needed for getting all of the work done and getting it done on time. i can stay is a little humid and the wind just kicked up in the last 30 minutes. as we look over here. this is it. the roadway. they have done a magnificent job here. repaved. bill, let's go to you now, we were talking last week about the possibility of few sprinkles today but it didn't pan out. >> worked out okay. it is the perfect night for this. right? sprinkles in the forecast. but there is fog but most is high cloud stuff and they are making for a beautiful back

drop. sun sets have been niced. sheer what could have happened and it -- been nice. here is what could have happened and it didn't. thunderstorms through sacramento. but for us we are on the south -- or the north end of it. there is always wind down there at the toll plaza. looks like a beautiful night for the opening of the new bay bridge. >> reporter: yeah. it really is going to be beautiful. i tell you, i drove on it probably 90 minutes ago and i will tell you if you are driving across the bridge, stay to the right hand side. on the right hand side that is where you can see the golden gate bridge, alcatraz and everything else. if you are in the center, you can't see as much and the tower is spectacular. >> thank you. if that ceremony happens we will go back out to frank

somerville. still to come, coverage on the crisis in syria. the president turns to a rival for support and more evidence the government used exception onilities own people -- used peps on its own people. -- chemical weapons on its own people. and a hit and run, the search for the driver and his encounter with police moments before the accident. 0!ockñ?çóxo?ñ=çñññçvxqx?ñññ?óioy

my favorite professors.

and so is this. this is my academic advisor. and also my cheerleader. and when i finish my degree in business... a new job, at a great company... that's the graduation present i want. [ male announcer ] in 2012, 90% of devry university grads actively seeking employment had careers in their field in 6 months. find your career success in the bay area. learn how at devry.edu. news chopper 2 live over the new bay bridge. a ceremony is expected to take place any minute here. a chain ceremony cutting. once that happens there salong

line of vintage cars lined up and they will -- is a long line of vintage cars lined up and they will be the first to cross the bridge. the bridge opening will happen tonight. we learned that in the past 20 minutes. the director of the california department of transportation let that slip. it will open tonight but didn't give an exact time. that could take us up to midnight. during the ceremony today and the live reports we heard that the evening hours are considered best for opening the bridge because the sky, illuminated bridge, a beauty fraktur that is -- factor that is not there as the sun is about to rise. we were expecting it to open tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. but as has been the case, they have always opened early and we

know that is going to be the case. the bridge is going to open tonight. one of the reasons we haven't been given a time officials don't want the public lining up waiting to be the first to cross. this is a great look at what is happening. you see the toll plaza. and you see here it is quiet except for all these people. there is the chain that will be cut with a blow torch and a number of the dignitaries who have come out of a ceremony that started at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. we were monitoring the ceremony in the newsroom. we saw speakers, many on the labor day referring to the men and women who helped build the bridge. the bay bridge estimates for its cost ballooned over the years. its billn. that is more than 4 times the

original estimate in 1997. the need for a new eastern span of the bay bridge arose after the 1989 earthquake. i remember what that earthquake felt like and here we are 24 years later dealing dealing with the repairs of the shaker that we felt that october day. today is a day to celebrate the men and womennen who built the new eastern span of the bay bridge -- women who built the new eastern span of the bay bridge, those who helped design it, smooth the building along, those who came up with the plan. no telling the number of people involved in the design and construction of the new eastern span of the bay bridge. and the bay bridge is referred to as the work horse of the bay area. we see the golden gate bridge

in post cards or in the newspaper, the golden gate bridge gets a lot of love from around the world and the bay bridge is looked at as the youngerster and today it is it -- younger sister and today it is in the spotlight. we are expecting it to open tonight. thanks to news chopper 2 we can give you a live picture of the crowd. this is an invitation only crowd as was the case with the ceremony at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. 800 people, lot of speakers, praise and now we have moved outside, they have come to the toll plaza. the last person we heard speak was former san francisco mayor gavin newsom. i would like to bring ktvu's frank somerville who is live. as we have covered stories about the old bay bridge and

now the new bay bridge gavin newsom has been a figure in those reports. >> reporter: he sure has. interesting when you think back. this took forever to build. we know about how soon the cost, the 6.4 billion and all of the different kinds of problems. now it is finally done and we have this beautiful bridge. when you think back you remember at one point governor pete wilson wanted to have a viaduct. and weem were saying -- people were saying the east bay needs something more. san francisco has the beautiful part of the bridge. oakland had the cantilever section. while there has always been thisigateway to san francisco -- this gate way to san francisco, we have a gate way to oakland. not only is it beautiful going towards san francisco, but i will tell you, when you come

back, pow! there is all of the east bay. opened up for you. except for the part the cantilever section is still covering up. once they tear that down then you will have this beautiful clear view. and we have talked about this with the cantilever section, you would think it wouldn't be that difficult but it will be a long process. kind of like a deck of cards. when you have a deck of cards, if you pull out the wrong card everything could collapse so they need to be careful with how they take down the cantilever section. it will be 9 months before most of the bridge that you can see is gone. after that they will do the piling of the bridge. the underwater things and that will take 2-3 years. when you think about the

original bay bridge, took three years to build, cost $77 million. to tear the cantilever three years, 200 million. times have changed over the years. we are still waiting for this ceremony. they are running behind schedule. but i can tell you the -- here is what the -- let's see. i am looking at this. hard to see. >> just so you know i have got a great view. the minute they start the ceremony i will break in. i think you are passing along the sentiments we have about the old bay bridge. we were talking about the fact we used it thousands of times but never appreciated the beauty, it got us to where we needed to go and there was a sense about what we be been using for so many years now.

>> reporter: we all complained about how ugly the cantilevers were and now we will miss it. i thought wow! that chapter is now over. but again, this new bridge, boy, is it spectacular. let me -- if they could come back to me for a second. i wanted to show you something i picked up here. i went to a store and -- can they come back to me for a second? this is a shirt that they are selling. you see it shows the cantilever section on it. cost me $30. and they ordered a second printing because so many people are coming into the store to buy it. there is a lot of sentimenttality with the

cantilever section -- sentimentality with the cantilever section. >> that is lieutenant governor gavin newsom. we also heard from mayor ed lee. we also heard from mayor jean quan. people associate the bay bridge with going to san francisco and the beautiful views you see but mayor jean quan made a point of saying now it is gorgeous coming to oakland. oakland is the working people's city. it is the city on the side of the bay that is more affordable. so again as we give you a shot of the bay bridge, we expect to see the chain cutting ceremony. this is a special ceremony and that is why it require as blow torch. once the lawmakers come, it is

a photo op. the opening of the new bay bridge. once that happens then there is going to be a parade of cars and chp motorcycle officers and then don't expect to drive right over. that is not the case. we know the bridge will open tonight and an exact hour hasn't been set, the reason for that is safety. officials do not want people lining up to be among the first to cross the bridge. just as they were saying on thursday, when we were reporting on the closure of the bridge. they didn't want people trying to be the last person to across the bridge -- to cross the bridge. that is why they are keeping the opening time underwraps for now. although we learned that it is going to happen tonight. again, a number of people,

hundreds assembled here. you see the mayors, mayor jean quan, mayor ed lee of san francisco. we see a number of other dignitaries. we heard people reference willie brown. again, we are waiting for the ceremony to happen and the minute we get information when it will happen we will pass it along to you. the bridge has been closed since evening on thursday. so the bay area has been without the bay bridge for a number of days. the golden gate bridge seeing heavy traffic. bart has been accommodating record crowds. people have been making due. lamed lamed weekend has been -- labor day weekend has been the target day. earlier we reported on a series of broken bolts that were found on the eastern span of the bay

bridge. when the broken bolts surfaced that threw this opening weekend in question. before the issue came up there was a big party planned. people were donating money and there was going to be a huge blow out, they were going to accommodate 100,000 people able to walk or use the bike path, fireworks, that has been scaled back for two reasons. the bolt issues cast question over the safety of the bridge and once caltrans worked to assure the public the bridge is safe and the opening date was put back on just in the past week, they realized there isn't time to throw that big of a party. so the party has been scaled down but you see there is still a celebration, involving

invited guests. lawmakers, transportation directors and other workers and we see friends and family of the people behind the line. for the most part invited againsts and reporters only -- guests and reporters only. frank somerville and ken pritchett and tom vacar are there. tom vacar was here when the earthquake happened. and we all remember that picture of the bay bridge broken and the space, even as we have been looking back, it is just such a stark reminder of the trouble the bay area felt without the bay bridge being shaken. this celebration today according to many officials is a moment of rebirth, celebration, resiliency and

they are hoping it turns into an icon. we talked about the golden gate bridge, gets a lot of press but today is a day for the new eastern span of the bay bridge to shine. frank somerville touched on it, the costs have grown since the original price tag in 1997. it is now $6.4 billion. over this bridge is different than the one it is replacing. two new features, a walk way and a bike path. if you feel up to it it is 2.2 miles. you can gauge how long that might take to walk or bike across. those avenues will be open after the road is open so it will be cars first and then a little bit before bikes are let past. first with the chain cutting

chairman and when the bridge opens up tonight and we expect it to be night fall. we could try imagine what it will look like. we have been showing you fully lit in the days leading up to today. when it comes to seeing cars on the bridge it will be a sight we haven't seen before. frank somerville was lucky enough to be taken across the bay bridge thanks to a chp officer. frank, if you would like to describe what that was like for you. i know you are a car guy, bay area native. how much better could it be? >> reporter: it was really pretty cool going across the bay bridge. we made a u-turn and the chp officer says this is the only time you will get a chance to make a u-turn in the tunnel. as you go up, as you are going

up the approach you can't see anything. looks like a run way. you get to the crest. you really have to be in the right hand lane to get a good view of what is going on. if you are in the other lanes you will get a view of that tower and that tower is something. the reason it is painted white, this was by design, because all of the cranes at the port of oakland are painted wait. back to the ceremony where they are just about to cut the chain. >> i am watching it again. great picture. we see mayor ed lee, lieutenant governor gavin newsom. helped give birth to the idea

of the bridge, the design to the steel and metal pieces of the bridge. it is the workers who were heralded. let's listen in. >> if you have bills to talk ogavin about he will be available after the -- to gavin he will be available after the ceremony. >> thank you. thank you to all the men and women who made this moment possible and the commitment of the people, the san francisco bay area, throughout california -- [no audio] >> not the best timing. we will try to get the live picture back for you. we expect to see the chain cut any moment here. that was lieutenant governor gavin newsom talking about

those people who helped make the bridge. >> dream big dreams and to do big things. with that i would like it ask you to participate in a count down and then be patient with me as i was do what i was told and not what willie brown suggested i do, he suggested i use my teeth to cut the chain. i will be putting on gloves. together. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

>> it took a sec more than i -- second more than i thought it would. mayor jean quan on one side, mayor ed lee on the other and

lieutenant governor gavin newsom. now comes the second part and that involves the long parade of vintage cars. we have been watching live from news chopper 2 all afternoon and there are dozens all lined up to be the bottom right of the picture, it is behind this crowd. there are a number of vintage cars. when we join frank somerville he can tell you about them. many go back to the opening date. there is a lot of ceremony involved. news chopper 2 has done a great job of showing us all the vintage cars involved in the procession. frank i imagine you went up to each one of those and we will check in with frank somerville in a second. first we will take a break. when we come back more coverage

of the bay bridge.

news chopper 2 live over the new bay bridge. we brought you the chain cutting ceremony live and up next the parade. the vintage cars lined up to be the first vehicles to cross the new eastern span of the bay

bridge and after that we expect the bay bridge to be open to general traffic tonight. the minute we get the time we will bring it to you. big day for the bay area as the new bay bridge will open anytime now. we have new information in a hit-and-run accident that left two women dead. one of the women was carmen zavala. ktvu's ann rubin is live where you learned about the contact police had with the driver before the crash. >> reporter: we learned chp had attempted to pull over a mercedes on submission of drunk driving. when the driver sped off they backed off for safety reasons. moments later he crashed into the two women. >> reporter: carmen zavala's husband can't believe she gone. >> lot of pain.

she left. she leave me. >> reporter: carmen zavala picked up a friend. they were headed to work when it happened at 3:00 a.m. this morning. a car slammed into theirs killing them both. the driver of the second car took off running. police have been looking for surveillance cameras in the area and tracking down the owner of the car. >> they will find out where the car was last night. >> reporter: carmen zavala's husband said the other driver should have stayed to help or comfort the dying women. >> i feel bad, she is supposed to stay here and try help her to help them but he ran away. >> reporter: they both were cooks at airport restaurants. colleagues found out what happened when they didn't show

up for work. >> there is lot of people that love these women. >> reporter: chp officers did not pursue the mercedes and didn't know about the crash till they saw other emergency vehicles responding. live in san jose, ann rubin, ktvu channel 2 news. when we come back more live coverage of the opening up the new bay bridge and what is to come. stay with us.

more coverage of the opening of the new bay bridge. the bridge is in the spotlight. frank somerville is live where history is about to be made. >> reporter: i have just been told by source that the bridge should be opening around 9:00 p.m. that is the schedule they are on right now. as you look you can see these are going to be the first motorcycles to go across the bridge. then they will be followed by all of the vintage cars, following that is a fleet of intelligence lumodel ss -- tesla model ss and then the dignitaries. these are chp motorcycle

officers. oakland officers and san francisco officers. the chargants are going first and after -- sergeants are going first and after that it goes by seniority. the car i want you to look out for mid-60s rolls-royce. it was bought brand new by sammy davis, jr. most of the vintage cars are owned by the academy of art in san francisco. they have a huge car collection and their students use the cars to practice their design. the first two cars to go across will be fords. 1935 ford and a 1940 ford convertible. the third car we believe is a 1937 buick. the same type of car that was the first car to cross in 1936 when the bridge opened.

in the mean time across the bridge to san francisco and ktvu's david stevenson. lot of people over there can't wait for this bridge to open as well. >> reporter: that's right. look behind me. you could see san francisco police officers, monitoring the traffic allowed to get on. they are turning away other people. they are counting down the hours till they reopen to everyone and cars can cross the bay bridge again. >> even on labor day traffic couldn't have been busier. they can't wait to take their two wheelers on the new eastern span of the bay bridge. >> yeah. i think it will be great. lot of people will take advantage of it. another place to go on a bike. >> reporter: from driver's curiosity about the view. >> i am excited. >> reporter: from traffic control officers. >> yeah.

been a lot of standing. we can't wait. >> reporter: relief from steering drivers away. >> tourists. and they are confused. lot. >> reporter: the closure hurt small businesses. on this holiday this plaza should be packed with tourists instead business is down big time. >> maybe half. 50%. >> one said he wouldn't mind if the bridge stayed closed longer. >> love it. no traffic in town. i could get reservations anywhere. >> reporter: others told us it can't come soon enough. he needs to visit his mother. >> i will. i will be the first one across. in the morning. >> reporter: again, a live look out here at first and harrison streets. you can see the officers who

are out here monitoring traffic. the onramps here in san francisco are closed. the only folks who are allowed on have green passes. again people are standing by. and other folks waiting for the bay bridge to reopen tonight to all traffic. reporting live in san francisco, david stevenson, ktvu channel 2 news. >> reporter: thank you. take a look. here they go. if you see -- i don't know if you can see the blue car there with the people in it. that is i believe the 1937 buick. the same car that was the first type of car to go crass this bridge in 1936. there are probably i would say in the neighborhood of at least 100-150 different cars that will be in this procession. many of them are older cars.

essentially they have cars from every different era. every different decade from the '30s up. they have a yellow corvette. 1966 or 1967 mustang. you see mayor jean quan in that car there. and as you pan back here you can see we get up towards the '50 and the '60s. you will see a chp patrol car from 1955. it is back there. next to -- next to that red car. behind the red cadillac.

that is the car that sammy davis, jr. bought. he was the first owner. it is worth $375,000. unfortunately the chp car -- interesting parade. >> you are the perfect person to be out there. i am glad you get to see history being made in person. noelle walker is in one of the vehicles. the minute we get a picture we will bring you that. we are going to bring that to you the minute we can. noelle walker inside. we have been looking at lot of historic cars. here we go. this is i believe the caltrans

vehicle. the minute we get noelle walker we will bring that to you. the intelligence luvehicles. -- the tesla vehicles. think about the changes. again, the bay bridge has been through a lot of changes and now we are seeing that in these pictures from old vehicles that were among the first to cross the bridge and soon the vehicles of today and the

future. so again, i promised you we will bring you pictures from noelle walker, she in one of the vehicles. the minute we have that we will bring it to you. if you are with us could you jump in because we would -- you are not in a car. what happened? >> reporter: no. we were ahead of the cars that were the first vehicles. i drove out with the chp. i got a chp escort. i road in the back of a chp car. we are on here and we are waiting for them to come up. you get a good look heading east across the new eastern span of the bay bridge. the new bridge. show them the old bridge next to it. earlier today my photographer and frank somerville had a chance to go across the bridge

at 3:30 p.m. it was a lull in things happening for the people who were outside of the ceremony and the chp were kind enough to escort some of us for the first time. so we were some of the first to cross over the new span of the bridge. pretty amazing experience. being one of the first ones. that is a cool experience. but also it is really an impressive bridge. it is so much different than the old span. which i take every day when i drive ktvu. you feel like you are driving in a cage. it could be a beautiful summer day and you can't tell. especially on the lower deck, it is dark. if it is rain you get the rain through the cantilever section. the new span is wide open.

it is much more gradual turns. there is no more "s" curve going into the tunnel through treasure island. it is much, much different. so this is a bridge you will be able to take in the view. you will be able to take in the weather. you will be able to see the hills and the water and the sky. the chp is hoping this won't distract drivers so much. there is also a shoulder for emergency purposes only. we have photographers waiting on the shoulder right now waiting for the procession to come up right now. but chp is warning drivers ahead of time the shoulder is not to be used to take photos and slow down and take in the scenery. you are to drive 50 miles per

hour on the new bridge and it has been built more for speed. when the old bridge was built cars were very different. they weren't performance vehicles that you have now. so this is a bridge that is built for faster cars. but they -- keeping that in mind they don't want it to be a race way. 50 miles per hour is the safe speed limit for this new bridge. we are waiting waiting for the procession, are they going 10 miles per hour can you see? >> we are giving our viewers are live look. [ talking at the same time ] >> reporter: they are old cars. >> give them a break. the "s" curve is now no longer a factor but since you drive across the bridge every day there -- [ talking at the same time ] >> reporter: we could give you a view right now. we will give you a view right now of what was the "s" curve

and it is now a straight shot out of the tunnel. gone is the "s" curve and the tunnel is clean, shiny, new lighting. they have taken advantage of this down time to do lot of the projects. over the weekend when i was working and we were on the western side i noticed they were painting that portion as well. >> it is getting a face lift. thank you so much noelle walker, live on the new span of the bay bridge. we watch that parade of cars make its way across. the minute we learn when the bridge is opening we will let you know. more after this.

ready to go and soon you will be able to drive over it. we will give you a look at the driver across the new span of the bay bridge and the turn the chp is concerned about. two co-workers killed in a hit- and-run crash in san jose. the contact police had with the driver. and are you laboring on this labor day. >> feel like i work 7 days a week. >> the longer hours american workers are logging. >> complete bay area news coverage starts right now, this is ktvu channel 2 news at 6:00

p.m. a historic day. news chopper 2 is live over the bay bridge as vintage cars makes its way across the span. i am gasia mikaelian. this is the day drivers have been waiting for for years. the eastern span of the bay bridge is ready for traffic and right now vintage cars with dignitaries inside is making its way across and everyone else is waiting for word on when it will open. frank somerville is live at the toll plaza right now. frank? >> reporter: all the cars just went by in the last 15 minutes. probably about 150 cars. and as we show you the other shots we have of the procession, they are going 20 miles per hour so it will take time but we just saw a fire engine go by with sirens and that was the last car, if you will, in the procession. right now