Police stopped dozens of dirt bikers on the east side of the Bay Bridge on Sunday night, blocking all lanes and snarling traffic for nearly two hours.
Around 5:45 p.m., Oakland police and California Highway Patrol officers initiated traffic enforcement against a large group riding dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles from San Francisco to Oakland, who had been “creating havoc,” said Officer Mark Andrews, a spokesman for CHP San Francisco.
The Oakland Police Department said it made “multiple arrests” and recovered more than 70 dirt bikes and ATVs, as well as vehicles, “in connection with sideshow-related incidents.”
Law enforcement briefly stopped all lanes of eastbound traffic on the bridge, before re-opening two lanes, Andrews said. The remaining lanes had been expected to re-open around 7:30 p.m. By 8 p.m., the backup appeared to have mostly cleared, according to Google Maps and some cameras on the bridge.
Andrews said the riders abandoned their dirt bikes and fled the area on foot. Many of them escaped without being detained, though it was not immediately clear how they evaded police. The traffic stop happened on the eastern span of the bridge, “on the decline portion,” Andrews said.
“This was a necessary step to hopefully have the individuals learn that this is improper behavior and we will not tolerate it on our roadways,” Andrews said.
As the incident unfolded, cars heading from San Francisco to Oakland on the Bay Bridge got stuck in a massive backup. At the height of the incident, Google Maps suggested drivers from San Francisco to the East Bay use the Richmond bridge.