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 we are seeing

lieutenant governor given newsom waving as he is going across. you have a bunch of vintage cars. cars from the '30s up to current and at the end you have tesla model s's and every day cars where family members were here, that is what they are riding in. the question is when is the bridge going to open. the sense i get is that it will open somewhere in the neighborhood of 9:00 p.m. or so. here is what they have to do. after this is over they will bring back the caltrans trucks. they will sweep the bridge and then the chp will make a security sweep and following that they will open the bridge and how they will do it, there will be brakes in the freeways and caltrans will pick up the cones and the cars will be

allowed to go across the bridge. make sure you follow the speed limits and not taking pictures because the chp will give you a ticket. let's goo ektvu's ken pritchett -- let's go to ken pritchett. >> reporter: it feels strange standing where i am standing now. this is a traffic lane leading leading to the tollbooth. tonight there will be cars making their way through this toll plaza on their way to the new eastern span of the bay bridge. we are here because this is where the official chain cutting ceremony to open the bay bridge took place. we will show you the moment led by lieutenant governor given newsom that the bridge opened. the opening -- we had a

opening. and now we will wait the official opening of the bridge when cars will make their way across. earlier today there were politicians speaking. many of the politicians grateful the bridge is opening and they were not focused on the decades it took to build the bridge, the coast over runs of the bridge. but many said the important thing to remember is we have a link between oakland and san francisco that is seismically safe, designed to with stand the next big earthquake. here are words from lieutenant governor given newsom. words of thanks before the official cutting of the chain. >> for a generation to dream big dreams and to do big things. >> reporter: one of the sentiments expressed is the opening of the bridge should be

celebrated but at the same time it should be remembered all of the difficulties involved in this project as california looks ahead to other major projects. he promised there would be hearings on the process to discover what exactly went wrong in the construction of the bridge and the cost over run and how it could be avoided in the future with other projects. high-speed rail comes to mind. ken pritchett, ktvu channel 2 news. >> reporter: all right. very good, thank you. we are going to let you know as soon as the bridge opens. no one will say on the record when it will open but the best guess i can manage here from talking to bunch of the people here, again, the estimate around 9:00 p.m. or so. i want to show you our ktvu camera.

you can see the signature span. a beautiful view of a beautiful bridge. cost $6.4 billion. five times the original estimate. everything that could go wrong during the building of the bridge went wrong and hopefully they will learn something from this when california builds more bridges, more big infrastructure projects in the future. it cost $550,000 per foot. on this bridge. a very expensive bridge. the suspension is 2,000 feet long. the tower rises 525 feet above the bay and 7700 workers worked on this bridge. i spoke to caltrans, they are very proud and they should be. the bridge is spectacular. back to noelle walker. that was something being able to get a chance to drive across the bridge and see what it looks like, especially when it

is empty. >> reporter: it is an eerie experience. we are getting the tail end of this procession. these are the first official people to go across. but we got to go first which is pretty cool. the classic cars went through 3, 4 minutes ago. they were moving along. they have the museum that loaned the 16 cars that started off the procession. the first car was a 37 buick, which i am told -- 37 buick was one of the first cars to go over the bridge in november 1936. that would have been the new model car in 1936. p if you were buying a new car that would have been the new car to get. we have chp officers coming

through now. these are -- i was told at the end of the line would be families of the dignitaries that went in the first group of cars. looks like we have a bus coming up too. i can't see what kind of bus. this is a widely spread out procession going over the span for the first time. when the bridge was built, or opened in 1936 it took three years to build. unbelievable to think of -- consideration how -- considering how long it took to build. that was a bus. we are getting a sampling of vehicles going across the bridge. everybody else will get their chance when the bridge

officially opens. frank? >> reporter: which should be in a couple hours. today's ceremony included a memorial to some of the people who died connected to the project. among others was the truck driver. he was killed on the "s" curve when his truck flipped over and fell. he lost control while on the upper deck and the truck went off the side of the bridge. after that accident and several others caltrans reduced the speed limit and added warnings with this new eastern span that part of the bridge is now gone. it is a more flowing curve. also remembered was the woman killed during the earthquake in

1989. her car plunged into the gap caused by the collapse section. she was 23 years old. she was the only person killed during the earthquake on the bridge. the bridge was closed for a month but engineers determined it needed to be replaced. that is why we have this new bridge. the california highway patrol has a warning for drivers. don't start trying to take pictures while driving with your cell phone and don't pull over to stop and get pictures or you will get a ticket. >> please do not stop on the shoulders unless it is necessary to cause an unsafe situation. >> reporter: the chp says driving on the new span will take time getting used to. especially eastbound where drivers will be out on the open and near the tower where a turn may take drivers by surprise. if you do get that ticket that

is a moving violation. it will cost several hundred dollars and it will add a point that could raise your insurance rates. the bridge that created a busy weekend for bart, the closure, yesterday was the 7th busiest sunday on record for bart, 217,000 riders. saturday was the second busiest saturday with 279,000. friday ahad the 4th highest -- had the 4th highest. thursday was the third busiest day in bart history. we are going to let you know as soon as the bridge opens. follow us on twitter. we will update you on facebook as well. the best guesstimate we have is this new bridge, this $6.4 billion bridge that took 11 years to build, it will be opening probably in the

neighborhood of 9:00 p.m. tonight. hours ahead of schedule. just so you know. when caltrans gives out a schedule they build in extra time so we all had a hunch it would be opening -- they said 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, we had a hunch they would finish early and they did so the bridge should be opening tonight in the next hours. we will let you know when it happens. >> thank you. the fight between bart and its workers is heating up during this cooling off period. the allegations leaders are making tonight and on this labor day are you working even though you are supposed to be off? you are not alone. the surprising number of americans putting in extra hours at home. >> back after the break. showers out there all over the northern part of the state. what you can expected there is a shower chance in the forecast.

the new bay bridge will open in hours now. ahead of schedule. frank somerville has been live all afternoon. amazing watching history happen. >> reporter: it really it. it is history happening right in front of us. this is probably going to be the only time when we will see a project this enormous open in front of us. $6.4billion. 11 years and the result is spectacular. i respect to show you the pictures. they have antique cars. a lot of tesla model s cars and you have a bunch of regular

cars with a.c. transit bus and a fire engine as well with caltrans vehicles. following this they will get the bridge ready to open. they don't have much work ahead. they will sweep it and do a skirt check and after that -- security check and after that the bridge will be open. the chp will be looking for people pulling over on the side of the road hoping to be one of the first cars to cross the bridge. you could get a ticket if you pull off. what we are looking at in the next couple hours the bridge should open. i have gone across it. it is beautiful. you will enjoy it when you drive across the new eastern span of the bay bridge. >> thank you. friands and family -- friends and family are mourning the loss of two women killed this morning. ktvu's ann rubin is live with

more. >> reporter: they wish the crash could have been prevented. especially knowing the driver had a run in with police moments before. >> reporter: the accident happened here. but officials with chp say the trouble startered 3/4 miles away -- started 3/4 miles away. they chose not to pursue for safety reasons. moments later that car crashed into the one driven by carmen zavala. >> the driver was my wife. >> reporter: carmen zavala was killed and so was her passenger. the two were on their way to work around 3:00 a.m. >> god give me patience. >> the driver fled the scene. police are trying to track him

down. >> i would have been out here looking for him. >> reporter: co-workers found out what happened when they didn't show up to work. both were cooks. >> i don't understand how this could happen to two wonderful women. hard working women. >> reporter: friends are hoping for justice. >> there is a lot of people that loved them. we just want answers. >> reporter: san jose police plan to use the registration to track down the owner. no word on whether that person was behind the wheel. ann rubin, ktvu channel 2 news. the major placers in the bart layer dispute pointed fingers at each other for the lack of progress. union members spent the day at to family picnic. management made themselves unavailable for negotiations during the cooling off period. >> i have a concern the deadline is october 10 and they

are not taking this seriously. they are using the same tactics which was to sit by and do nothing. >> bart says we are eager to hear from the unions about our last offer that has gone unanswered. new at 6:00 p.m. new information shows 90% of u.s. workers do some work on their days off. ktvu's john fowler discovered that might not be a good thing. >> reporter: labor day, nearly everyone admitted working during time off. >> i am answering e-mails and taking calls. >> feels like i work 7 days a week. i don't feel like i am off. >> reporter: workers blame mobile devices. a slow economic recovery and management pressure. >> somebody will need something. to be ready to answer questions. >> reporter: a new survey shows

18% of the british work more than 10 hours a week unpaid. 27% of australians. 37% of americans. >> because they cut back on labor and weren't enough people to get the things done. >> reporter: 61% of u.s. employees work during vacations. >> i think people require information now and being such a globalized commerce it is a requirement. >> reporter: 1-10 refuse. >> i need take a break and be able to be a more effective employee when i am on the clock. >> reporter: colleges say that is right. when people take time to refresh and recharge they become more effective workers and get more done. john fowler ktvu channel 2 news.

reports of light sprinkles in the valley now. here is the system i am tracking. cooler today. here is the system. it is pulling in moisture from the south. feels muggy out there. humidity. to the livermore valley. you can see what i am talking about. sprinkles showing up here. reports of light stuff. the atmosphere is moist but a lot of stuff isn't hitting the ground. livermore light to moderate rainfall. fast moving system. most of the actions is around lake tahoe. look at that. lightning and thunder. flood concerns up in this area for heavy rainfall. that is the blue area. brown area is the fire zone. as the weather system passes through we should dry up. and that will be good news for folks in the mountains who have seen thunderstorms east of the sierra nevada. thundershowers tonight and

tomorrow morning. but slight. less and less into the evening hours. 76 right now in livermore. the way this goes, temperatures are gradually going to warm up towards the end of the week. yesterday was cooler. yesterday was warmer than today. tomorrow will be warmer than today as well. the forecast highs tomorrow then, 90s. not that hot. right? tomorrow hottest mid-80s. 84, 83. mild day. fog back and forth at the coast. not a major player. it is there. patchy but not shutting you down. plenty sunshine at the beaches. five-day forecast with your bay area weekend in view there it is. heats up on thursday. friday, saturday, sunday fire danger concerns. maybe monday as well. this is what we are tracking down the road. in the mean time a slow warm up to the bay area weekend.

>> thank you. we have been watching history in the making. we continue to wait for the official word on when the new eastern span of the bay bridge will open to the public. here is a live picture. stay with us. we will be right back. [ marco ] i'm a student at devry university.

and this is my home team. this is my large lecture hall. this is my professor. and also my coach. this is my booster club. this is the guy who's graduating ready for a great career in technology. [ 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.

joe fonzi in for mark ibanez. a's fans are having a good labor day week. >> they didn't lose a game all weekend. the a's and rangers for first place in the american league west. a's benefiting from the long aball of late -- long ball of the late. the a's got two in the inning. the rangers not thrilled. rangers pulled even in the oink. but coco crisp homers. he homered in 7-12 games. the a's win 4-2. they are dead even with the rangers at the top of the division and feeling

confident. >> sometimes iit is what it takes, that -- it is what it takes, that edge to put you on top. >> we are just coming every day the same even keel. >> giants and padres playing in san diego to stay out of the nl west seller. this is asking left hander? really? three walks. that made this single hurt more. san diego win 4-1. tied at the battle of the division. >> final day of the golf tournament in massachusetts. this is stenson. he came from two strokes down after three rounds shooting 66. winning by two. he takes over the lead in the $10 million fedex cup standings. see you tonight at 10:00 p.m. >> thank you. watching history happening

today. frank somerville live at the eastern span of the bay bridge. we are hours away from the opening. >> reporter: one last time here. we have the tollbooth empty but i am guessing in a couple hours this area is going to be jammed with cars going across for the first time. what will happen the chp will send out an e-mail when it will happen. full coverage at 10:00 p.m. see you then.

the miss america pageant seems like a tough contest. you come out there in the bathing suit and dress shoes. they got that sanitized-for-your- protection toilet-seat thing hanging off them. plus, they got to wear all the other outfits. i don't know why. the bathing suit is the contest. you win the bathing suit, you win. everybody looks good in formal wear. it's dark, it covers everything. that's why we have weddings in it. if we had weddings in bathing suits, a lot of ceremonies wouldn't get past if anyone sees any reason why these two people shouldn't be married, about eighty hands go up.