Golden Gate Bridge to shift evening commute lanes

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is tweaking the lane configuration on the span during the evening commute starting Tuesday.

There currently are four northbound lanes and two southbound lanes between 4 and 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

The configuration successfully minimized delays northbound but rapidly caused significant delays southbound that do resolve quickly once a third southbound lane is added at 5:30 p.m., District spokeswoman Priya David Clemens said.

Starting Tuesday, the four northbound lanes and two southbound lanes will be in effect only between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday afternoons, and there will be three northbound and three southbound lanes on Monday afternoons, Clemens said.

It takes the zipper truck 30 minutes complete a lane change so the diversion will begin at 3:30 p.m. and finish at 5 p.m., Clemens said.

The District hopes the adjustment will ease the traffic burden for southbound drivers and still provide congestion relief northbound, Clemens said. The District also will monitor the impact of the changes and make adjustments as needed, Clemens said.