Portions of Highway 101 that feed into, across and out of the Golden Gate Bridge will close on the Fourth of July to accommodate the festivities.
As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, the Golden Gate Bridge will be closed in both directions that night to all traffic including pedestrians and bicycles.
The closure starts at 8 p.m. Saturday to accommodate fireworks launching from the east side of the bridge. By 9 p.m. the bridge will be fully closed.
In a joint statement, Caltrans said Highway 101 will be closed between the northbound off-ramp at Lincoln Boulevard in San Francisco and southbound off-ramp at Spencer Avenue in Marin.
The statement also noted that the Bay Bridge, Interstate 280, and the rest of Highway 101 will remain open but strongly encourage drivers and visitors to use public transit to avoid delays and consider alternative routes in, out and around San Francisco.
The California Highway Patrol will start deploying signs to inform drivers of the closures and delays. Traffic is expected to be heavy starting in the late afternoon and will continue to have significant congestion before the fireworks begin, according to Caltrans.
The firework show from the bridge will commence between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. The bridge is scheduled to reopen again after 10 p.m.