SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of commuters who typically cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge each day were urged Monday to plan another route for Tuesday.
The Bay Bridge was closed Thursday as part of a planned seismic retrofitting project.
"At this time, commuters should be thinking about a plan B if they want to be conservative," California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney said.
The Bay Bridge was closed Thursday as part of a seismic retrofitting project that required cutting out and replacing a double-deck portion of the east span.
But plans to reopen it by Tuesday morning's rush hour were cast into doubt during an inspection of the east span, where workers found a "significant crack" in an eyebar. Officials believe that the crack developed since the bridge was last inspected two years ago, Ney said.
The original retrofitting plans are on schedule to be completed by Tuesday morning, he said, but progress replacing the cracked eyebar is less certain.
"We're still not sure we're going to be able to complete that work by Tuesday at 5 a.m.," he said. "As soon as it's done, we're going to open the bridge, and that's about all we can say right now."
Ney added that officials would know more by 5 p.m., when another news conference would be held.
About 280,000 vehicles cross the landmark bridge every day, according to the department.
A 50-foot section of the bridge collapsed in 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake, prompting efforts to make it quake tolerant.
All About Earthquakes • Civil Engineering • San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
They examine the bridge only once every two years? What?!?
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