Pro-Palestinian protesters block westbound Bay Bridge for hours; dozens arrested, traffic resuming

By CARLOS CASTANEDA

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Pro-Palestinian protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked all westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for hours during the Thursday morning commute.

Dozens were arrested and multiple vehicles used to block the lanes were towed, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol said the protesters blocked the westbound lanes on the bridge’s eastern span just before Treasure Island shortly before 8 a.m. Two lanes were re-opened shortly after 10 a.m. to Caltrans and official vehicles, while intermittent groups of regular vehicular traffic were creeping by on the right-hand shoulder. By 11 a.m., traffic was moving on the two right lanes.

However, while the cars that were stuck on the span by the protest are moving again, CHP has still shut down the Bay Bridge to westbound traffic until the earlier incident has been cleared. All lanes feeding into the Bay Bridge toll plaza from the MacArthur Maze are still being detoured in other directions.

That closure has not surprisingly led to westbound congestion on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the San Mateo Bridge.

Pro-Palestinian protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza blocked all westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for hours during the Thursday morning commute.

Dozens were arrested and multiple vehicles used to block the lanes were towed, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol said the protesters blocked the westbound lanes on the bridge’s eastern span just before Treasure Island shortly before 8 a.m. Two lanes were re-opened shortly after 10 a.m. to Caltrans and official vehicles, while intermittent groups of regular vehicular traffic were creeping by on the right-hand shoulder. By 11 a.m., traffic was moving on the two right lanes.

However, while the cars that were stuck on the span by the protest are moving again, CHP has still shut down the Bay Bridge to westbound traffic until the earlier incident has been cleared. All lanes feeding into the Bay Bridge toll plaza from the MacArthur Maze are still being detoured in other directions.

That closure has not surprisingly led to westbound congestion on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the San Mateo Bridge.

As of 11:45 a.m., Caltrans said lanes reopened on the bridge were still specifically to clear the vehicles that were stuck during the protest. The bridge itself was finally being reopened to westbound traffic a few minutes later.

Some of the protesters chained themselves together on the roadway. Images showed their protesters’ arms locked together through the open windows of several stopped vehicles.

The Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) said on social media that the action by about 200 protesters was to highlight what it called a genocide happening in Gaza while President Joe Biden was hosting cocktail parties in San Francisco.

The group unfurled a banner reading, “Biden Harris: Ceasefire Now” across the lanes while others held a banner reading “No to US military aid to Israel. Still other protesters held a “die-in” on the roadway, covering their bodies in white sheets and placards that read “11,000 dead.”

Eastbound traffic on the bridge out of San Francisco was also impacted by the protest action, both due to drivers slowing to look at the activity on the westbound side and periodic closures by the CHP.

As of 9:30 a.m., a CHP spokesman said protesters were being arrested and officers were working to remove the vehicles from the roadway.

“It’s gonna take a little while. However, we’re not going to be blocking all the lanes so we’re hoping we can reopen at least one or two lanes in the meantime so that traffic can start flowing,” said CHP spokesman Officer Art Montiel.

At a press conference on the bridge a short time later, the CHP said 50 people were arrested and at least 15 cars removed from the bridge. Some 250 police and CHP officers were mobilized to the protest. As many as 50 more protesters could be arrested following a review of videos of active participants in the protest, the CHP said.

A number of protesters were being found in vehicles hundreds of yards behind where the main protest was staged which was slowing the process of clearing the scene, CHP said. So far, protesters were being taken into custody peacefully and not were actively combative with law enforcement.

Protesters under arrest were being loaded onto San Francisco Sheriff’s Department buses to be removed from the bridge that were just leaving the scene as of 10:15 a.m.

Authorities noted that many of the abandoned cars involved in the protest that were being towed had no keys to be driven off the span because protesters had thrown ignition keys over the side of the bridge.

Shortly before 10 a.m., motorcycles were allowed to drive past the scene of the protest on the right shoulder, with some riders saying they had already been stopped in traffic for two hours. Soon after, some cars were beginning to get past the protest on the shoulder as well and authorities were able to open two lanes shortly after that.

Motorists at the Bay Bridge toll plaza in the metering lights area were allowed to turn around to get out of the backup into eastbound traffic. Some vehicles that were on the span were also instructed to drive in the opposite direction of traffic along the right shoulder to exit the bridge near the toll plaza.

Other motorists stuck on the bridge were seen taking advantage of not going anywhere to enjoy the view from the eastern span.

A similar protest happened Thursday morning in Boston. Demonstrators seeking a cease-fire in Gaza blocked traffic on the Boston University bridge during rush hour, stopping traffic for more than two hours.

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