Drivers who use Interstate 80 in the East Bay face a major change starting tonight. Caltrans will fully close the Appian Way Overcrossing in Pinole, in Contra Costa County, for 55 hours from 9 p.m. on Friday, November 13, through about 4 a.m. on Monday, November 16, 2026, the agency said. Both the northbound and southbound spans of the overcrossing will be shut, all traffic on Appian Way will be diverted onto I-80, and every I-80 off-ramp to Appian Way will be closed for the weekend.

Source: Caltrans District 4

The weekend shutdown is only the first step. When the bridge reopens on Monday morning, the southbound Appian Way Overcrossing will stay closed — from 4 a.m. on Monday, November 16, through spring 2027, weather permitting — while crews carry out an emergency replacement project. The northbound bridge will carry two-way traffic in the meantime, with one lane in each direction, so a local crossing over I-80 remains open, but at half its normal capacity.

Why the bridge has to be replaced

The work goes back to a routine bridge inspection in July 2025, when Caltrans' Structures Maintenance and Investigations team found corrosion on the steel columns supporting the Appian Way Overcrossing abutment, according to Caltrans. The agency temporarily closed the bridge at the time and installed temporary support while engineers developed a permanent solution. Caltrans says it has maintained that temporary support ever since, and has now decided the safest path is to replace the northern portion of the southbound overcrossing with a wider, more robust structure, replacing and widening the bridge's north abutment.

The City of Pinole published the same closure schedule in its own notice to residents, confirming the 55-hour weekend closure from 9 p.m. on November 13 to 4 a.m. on November 16 and the long-term southbound closure beginning November 16 and expected to continue through spring 2027. The city noted that all work is subject to change due to weather or scheduling constraints.

Source: City of Pinole

What changes for drivers on Monday

During the long-term phase, the southbound overcrossing remains closed for the whole construction period. Drivers entering Appian Way from I-80 will be able to turn right only, and the left-turn lane from northbound Appian Way to the westbound I-80 on-ramp will be closed. Caltrans warns motorists to expect traffic delays, temporary traffic control and periodic lane restrictions in the area, and says changeable message signs have been switched on along I-80 and local streets to warn the public. During the weekend closure itself, pedestrian and bicycle access across the overcrossing is also prohibited — nobody may cross it in any way.

The official detours

Caltrans has published turn-by-turn detours. From southbound Appian Way to eastbound I-80: take the westbound I-80 on-ramp from Appian Way, exit at Richmond Parkway/Fitzgerald Drive, turn left, and take the eastbound I-80 on-ramp from Richmond Parkway/Fitzgerald Drive. From westbound I-80 to southbound Appian Way: exit at Richmond Parkway/Fitzgerald Drive, turn left, continue on Fitzgerald Drive and turn right onto southbound Appian Way. From northbound Appian Way to westbound I-80: take the eastbound I-80 on-ramp from Appian Way, exit at Pinole Valley Road, turn left and take the westbound I-80 on-ramp from Pinole Valley Road. From eastbound I-80 to northbound Appian Way: exit at Pinole Valley Road, turn left, continue to Tennent Avenue, turn left onto San Pablo Avenue and then left onto Appian Way.

I-80 through Pinole is one of the East Bay's main commuter and freight corridors, linking Richmond and Hercules with Vallejo and the routes toward Sacramento, and it carries heavy truck traffic every day. For Punjabi truck drivers and other commercial drivers who use the I-80 corridor, the freeway itself stays open — it is the Appian Way exits and the local crossing that disappear — but local trips to homes, businesses and services on either side of the freeway in Pinole will take the signed detours for months, and the single-lane-each-way northbound bridge is likely to queue at busy times.

What happens next

Crews will use the weekend closure to install the new traffic configuration for the long-term phase. The southbound replacement work then runs through spring 2027, weather and field conditions permitting, and Caltrans' published plan includes a further full weekend closure before the southbound span reopens. Until then, the advice from both Caltrans and the City of Pinole is the same: plan ahead, follow the signed detours via Pinole Valley Road or Richmond Parkway and Fitzgerald Drive, and allow extra travel time around the Appian Way interchange.