SAN FRANCISCO - High winds hampered efforts yesterday to make repairs and reopen the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge after two rods and a 5,000-pound crossbeam fell into traffic lanes.
Three cars were damaged, and one person suffered minor injuries when the metal debris fell onto the heavily used span during rush hour Tuesday.
The state said it did not know when the bridge could reopen. Traffic was jammed early yesterday on other San Francisco-area highways, as motorists looked for alternatives to the bridge, which carries about 280,000 cars each day.
The pieces that broke were part of major repairs done over Labor Day weekend after crews discovered a cracked link during an earthquake safety upgrade. The rods that broke were holding a saddle-like cap that had been installed over the cracked link.
When a rod snapped about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, it brought down a steel patch roughly three feet long, authorities said.
