After a truck propane tank explosion on Thursday morning, all westbound lanes on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge have opened again.
The California Highway Patrol said the closure of the bridge was caused by the explosion of a truck’s flammable propane tank, which resulted in heavy traffic.
As of 8:43 a.m., the traffic information page of the CHP said all lanes moving westward were blocked on the other decks. By 9:42 a.m., all the other three lanes were open.
Two of the lanes, however, were not opened as possible damages were investigated.
“We’re still working to extinguish the truck fire,” according to Mark Andrews, CHP spokesperson, 9 a.m. “We hope to have a couple lanes open in about 10 minutes. It was one propane tank but it was exploding so we had to close all lanes.”
“All lanes of I-80 w/b (SFOBB), just east of Fremont St. off are currently stopped due to a vehicle fire with propane on board,” CHP said in a Twitter post.
San Francisco police said no injuries were reported from the explosion.
According to the CHP, several units have been deployed and reported “tar all over the roadway.”
At the peak of the everyday commute on Thursday, a massive black cloud of smoke was seen floating from the bridge. It turned white by 9 a.m. as a firefighting operation was undertaken by the crews.
Instead of taking the Bay Bridge, those headed to San Francisco should use the Richmond-San Rafael, SFGate reported.
The Bay Bridge accommodates vehicles that exceed more than a quarter-million daily. Its two decks – with the upper deck traveling from the East Bay to the city – are considered the main connection between the East Bay and San Francisco.
