>> eager drivers lining up to experience their first ride across the new span of the bay bridge. we have a crew among the crowds on the bridge. we will talk with excited drivers about the landmark opening. plus, a historic day for cyclists and pedestrians who just began using the bridge for the first time ever. >> complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is channel 2 news at noon.

>> good afternoon. i'm torri campbell. it's the first full day that the new eastern span of the bay bridge is open to the public. you can see that mesmerizing new suspension span on the left- side of your screen. some of the drivers at the toll plaza getting ready to go over it for the first time on the right-side of the screen. take a look at the traffic conditions. you see the unusual breadth section on westbound interstate 80 basically headed south portal toll plaza where it appears many drivers are making it a point to use the new span of the bay bridge today. there was also an accident about an hour ago on the bridge westbound block the shorter -- the shoulder. the bike paths and pedestrian walkway just opened for the first time. talking to excited drivers, but we begin our team coverage from above the new span. how are drivers handling the new

bridge? >> reporter: i'm going to show your picture of the traffic on the new bridges. our photographer is going to pan today. you can see the traffic is moving along pretty well getting up to this point, but where the slowdown has been have the drivers coming up to the new span and trying to take pictures. of course, a couple accidents, as you mentioned. some complained the lights were on extra slow. one driver told us it took him more than an hour just to get onto the bridge itself. another is a natural inclination to take pictures or video. chp says drivers can quickly get into a dangerous situation if they're distracted. >> i did happen to see a new set of fresh skidmarks on the new structure, so that was interesting. no collisions. everyone appears to be driving in a safe manner. we do not want individual stopping to take pictures either on the shoulder or mounting your camera on your steering wheel as you are driving. >> aside from the one crash,

we've had conflicting reports there was at least one pressure sure, but one of our photographers said there were some incidents overnight. one person pulled over to take pictures. of course, that person was quickly taken off at span. i'm not sure if he was cited. then there was the person, i don't know if it was a man or woman, who was cited for dui around 2:00 this morning. as for traffic, there seems to be more and even some told us someone went out of their way to use the bridge today. >> we actually did, yes. >> why did you do that? >> well, i think it is a historical event, and, i mean, we just wanted to see it. >> now, as for enforcement, there will be enforcement teams. you may remember a couple years ago when they install the s curve. birds had a lot of chp officers

all over the place getting people to slow down. it's going to be a similar thing. drivers are going to be watched very closely by chp. we are looking at it now. you see traffic is moving well, but so far the traffic has been moving well through the tunnel and onto the other side of the bridge. channel 2 news. >> thanks. it was a historic night. the toll plaza first open to traffic around 10:15 last night allowing vehicles onto the eastern span. many cars lined up early to be among the first to drive on the new self suspended bridge. and alex savage is one of those drivers making its way across the span. he joins us now buckled up in life behind the wheel. >> reporter: well, it has been a busy right all morning long. a lot of people anxious to take that first trip across this beautiful new bridge. things a little bit sluggish. again, we've seen a lot of people

taking -- >> if you drove the new eastern span into the city this morning, you have a lot of company. things were flow coming up the incline as everyone took in this gorgeous view of the bay. with alcatraz off in the distance. >> the new bridge is very wide, very light. the view was fantastic. it's like floating almost. >> it felt a little more like a causeway been a bridge. but clean and pretty otherwise. >> greg carpooled across the new bay bridge this morning. he had a lot of work to do but didn't want to miss this incredible view. >> i stopped the work and looked up and said, this is great. what a big thing for the bay area. >> a long-awaited debut for the world's longest self anchored suspension bridge, and people wanted to capture the moment. this woman held her cell phone through the sunroof as she drove across, not what the chp wants to see. the first ride was clearly fun for

commuters. a toll taker told me he's never seen so many people so happy to hand over their money. >> some of them asked me for autographs. >> the new eastern span is clearly a big draw for people from across the bay area and beyond, possibly another tourist destination like that of the bridge across the bay. >> and some of the features of the new bay bridge really benefited this morning commute. we saw several cars that stalled out, especially coming up incline headed west into the city, but they pulled right off onto the brand- new shoulders and didn't impact traffic. as the driver crossed the new eastern span here at this new time, things are still very heavy, a lot of that traffic, a long way to the toll plaza. just keep that in mind if you take the first trip across the bay bridge this afternoon. live on the new bay bridge, channel 2 news. >> thank you.

>> the enthusiasm is tempered by the time and cost attempt to build it. in 1998, the plan for the original self anchored suspension bridge was estimated to take four years and cost $1.4 billion. however, construction actually ended up taking 11 years and the total cost, $6.4 billion. and there are still more work to do. last march 32 keep the bridge standing durham major earthquake cracks. that could have delayed opening. instead, engineers came up with a temporary repair job that all of the bridge to open last night, but it will be the middle of december before a permanent fix is in place. it is designed to withstand the strongest earthquake estimated by seismologists to occur over the next 1500 years. after all, it is replacing the old structure which was damaged in the 1989 earthquake. the new span has many unseen state-of-the-art features. they include hinge type beings

which is serious animation. the being absorbed the energy from an earthquake. they are designed to move if the bridge deck expands or contracts . engineers say this will minimize damage to the bridge's main structure. happening now, the new bike paths and pedestrian walkway for the bay bridge has just opened moments ago. live from the middle of the new path. first people begin to use it. >> reporter: we are over here at the new eastern span of the bay bridge. actually, there is a bike path that just opened up about an hour and 10 minutes early. you can see the view from chopper 2 of what it looks like from above.

two lanes as well as a pedestrian walkway from outside. people are really enjoying it out here. >> the king cutting ceremony took place about 40 minutes ago. invited guests were among the first people on the bridge. >> you worked so hard for this to happen, and now finally there is a bike path. i'm really glad it's being able to

happen. >> i wish we were able to see it happen. it worked really hard to make it come true. i'm excited. >> cyclists and pedestrians were greeted. a piece of the old bridge connected to one island. a portion of the existing bridge and once that's done, the pathway is 2.2 miles between oakland and the island. i want to go back again to the bike pathway and walkway. again, you can see that people are really taking advantage of checking out a never before seen view.

>> thank you, janine. fans of the bay bridge troll are waiting to find out where the metal sculpture will make its permanent home. the troll made its appearance at its opening ceremony yesterday. it was famously installed without permission by workers who fixed the old man after the 1989 quake. he was meant to ward off disasters and bring good luck. the troll will live in an undisclosed location until a permanent home is found. our coverage continues online at ktvu.com.

watch video of the first morning commute, re-watch parts of the opening ceremony from last night, and a historic moment of the opening. just look for the special section of the top of the homepage. it has been nearly three years since the deadly pipeline explosion, and we get an update on the rebuilding process in that neighborhood. the muggy weather has moved out and meteorologist rosemary will be here to tell you when you can expect to see nineties in the forecast. president obama meets with members of congress to drum up support for airstrikes against syria. what a local senator has to say.

>> the mayor of san bruno is marking the third anniversary of the pipeline disaster with a recovery update. next monday is the official anniversary of the explosion and fire that killed eight people, injured 60 others, and destroyed 38 homes. this morning the mayor said the community is still healing and rebuilding if he continues to demand stricter pipeline safety regulations. he said he wants to make sure this never happens again. we talked about his efforts to form a mayor's council on pipeline safety in connection with the u.s. conference of mayors. crews are making progress against the massive wildfire burning in and around yosemite national park. here are the most current numbers.

fire is now 75 percent contained. nearly 236,000 acres have burned. that is almost 370 square miles making it the fourth largest wildfire in california history. 11 homes have burned, about 4500 homes and other structures are threatened. full containment is not expected until september 20th. in less than an hour at 1:00, san francisco mayor egli and the san francisco public utilities commission are scheduled to provide an update on how the fire has affected the water supply. some ask them the fire has fallen on the surface of the reservoir, but officials say the water is still safe to drink. the reservoir provides water to 2.6 million customers in the bay area. happening now, senators questioning members of the obama administration about the request for congress to authorize military action against syria. live from washington with more

on the senate committee hearing. good afternoon, jaclyn. >> reporter: good afternoon, tori. senator barbara boxer says those who use chemical weapons was the held accountable. let's take a live look at the senate relations committee hearing that began about 30 minutes ago. secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel asking -- by making the obama administration case for making military action against syria. they accuse chemical weapons against his own people. senators came back early for the hearing. they want to back until next week. in opening statements, this is one of the most important decisions this committee will make. >> that the world is watching not just to see what we decide, but it is watching to see how we make this decision. >> congress remains divided on issue of military action in syria. there will be another closed- door

hearing tomorrow. later today on channel 2 news, hear what senator boxer asked the administration top officials. >> more details now. this morning president obama met with 16 lawmakers at the white house to try to rally support for a military strike. the president assured them that any military strikes would be limited and not involve boots on the ground. california senator dianne feinstein says she is fully supportive of the president actions, and congress is expected to vote on a military strike next week. a nice day shaping up around the bay area. plenty of blue skies giving you a live look at the golden gate bridge. this morning stocked in by fog. you see a nicely with patches of fog hanging on. partly cloudy to mostly clear skies, even along the coast. take a look at storm tracker 2. using insight. you have to get off the coastline to see that strip. this is what we have in store

for today. that muggy air has moved out and we're left with mostly clear skies, drier conditions, and nice temperatures. the onshore breeze will continue . we look at that as an indicator as well as to how we will be warming up for the afternoon. temperatures right now in the 60s and 70s. i have a feeling this number is not quite working. 64 fail field. that's what we had this morning, so i think that is not working at the moment. 77 in concord, 78 napa. 66 at half moon bay with fair skies overhead. as we get into the second half of the day, temperatures warm another few degrees. i'll have those numbers in a moment. this is a system that will remain stationary over the next couple days naacp onshore breeze with the, the low clouds through the morning hours, so plenty of sunshine through the afternoon. temperatures write about where they should be, even a tablet seasonal average. 80 degrees expected for the afternoon in sonoma them a 73

for sausalito. a beautiful lake -- beautiful day at the water. if you're going to see the a's play, again, the onshore breeze will be with us through the second half of the day. warmer humidity. still feeling pretty good. 85 morgan hill, 80 degrees for san jose. 76 san mateo, 72 in downtown san francisco. mid to upper 60s remaining along the coastline. your extended forecast here, temperatures begin to nudge up tomorrow, but it's a gentle bump there. by the second half of the business week, there go the numbers and into the weekend of the bay area weekend in view. temperatures warming in the mid to upper nineties in time for saturday. upper 70s around the bay, and it could be a nice weekend ahead to the coast. temperatures in the upper 60s to

low 70s. the summertime heat is not finished with us just yet. >> a little bit of indian summer. thank you. this afternoon an international jury could release the decision on the penalty team oracle usa must pay in the america cup races. they made illegal modifications to its catamarans that used. sources say it could have some of its team members banned from the main america's cup races or the team could be docked points. the first race against new zealand is set for saturday. a teenager killed in a car crash last week will be laid to rest this afternoon. 17-year-old robert orlando was killed after the car he was riding and slammed into a tree near his home. it happened the night before he was set to start his senior year.

the crash also injured the 17-year-old driver and a 16-year-old passenger. public service for orlando starts today at 3:00 p.m. at the saint joan of arc parish in san ramon. it's official. a major announcement from apple. plus, getting paid to find problems. how much one social networking giant paid a man who revealed a flaw in their software.

>> politics move into markets today. wall street surged after the opening bell. and the rally stalled when white house speaker john boehner said he supports the call for action.

the dow was up 16, the nasdaq up 21, s&p up five. microsoft is buying its way into the cell phone market. the company announced its $7.2 billion deal to buy no caps phone business and patent rights associated with gnocchi of phones. two companies have been working together for two and half years to compete with samsung and apple. if it does shareholder and regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close early next year. stock is up 31 percent for nokia, but microsoft stock is down almost 5 percent. a researcher in india getting $12,500 from facebook for finding a flaw in its software. he used facebook ceo page to expose the bug that lets hackers delete other people's photos. the social networking giant says the man did not delete anything so he did not violate any privacy rules. apple confirmed rumors today that it will hold an event next tuesday on september 10th.

the company sent invitations to the media with a rainbow of dots behind an apple logo. underneath it says, that should brighten everyone's day. it does not offer details about a possible iphone 5 s in black, white, or gold or cheaper iphone 5 c and colors that might brighten the day. but that's what insiders have been talking about. apple is also expected to unveil a new mobile operating system. for the first time ever, california state university is offering students the option of taking online classes. the system is offering 33 online courses this fall semester. full-time students enrolled at any campus have access to online courses at other campuses. the idea is to help students complete required lower level course work to get their degrees on time. initially, students are only allowed to enroll in one online course per semester.

continuing coverage of the first day of commuting across the new eastern span of the bay bridge. we've seen a few accidents and violations. we monitor all the problems and we also look into what some call a flaw in the design that could cause congestion problems on the bridge in the future. thank you for making ktvu your choice for news. we will see you the next time news breaks. be sure to join us again at 5:00. we are always here for you on ktvu.com. have a great day. elizabeth:

hollywood, california. and celebrity dance-a-thons. where dancers, live music, celebrities and celebration, all combine in an amazing charity event. both: dance with us! that's me, elizabeth. and today, my friend, rob pinkston and i, are dancing for a cure for pediatric cancer. and you're coming with us. are you all stretched out and ready to get your groove on? then let's go. it all happens right now. crampin' up already? crampin' up? yeah. we haven't even started. i know. this is going to be a long day. welcome to elizabeth stanton's great big world and the hollywood celebrity dance-a-thon. oh, hey guys. you're probably wondering what i'm doing here.