Richmond-San Rafael Bridge restores emergency lane after six-year absence

Commuters crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Monday morning encountered a major change after transportation officials restored an emergency breakdown lane that had been absent for six years, closing the bicycle and pedestrian path during most weekdays.

The barrier-protected bicycle and pedestrian path that has occupied the right shoulder of the westbound upper deck since 2019 will now only be accessible Thursday afternoons through Sunday nights, closing at 11 p.m. Sundays and reopening at 2 p.m. Thursdays.

During closed periods, the barrier will be moved aside to reinstate the emergency breakdown lane.

Transportation officials also debuted a bike shuttle that will ferry cyclists across the bridge after the path closes. The free shuttle operates 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, with pickup locations near Castro Street in Richmond and Vista Point in San Rafael.

The shuttle can accommodate up to 10 standard bikes or e-bikes, with a front hitch that can hold two additional bikes. Two shuttles will operate during morning commute hours from 6 to 10 a.m. to handle traffic delays that lengthen crossing times.

The roughly six-mile path connecting Marin and Contra Costa counties is part of the 500-mile San Francisco Bay Trail. The shuttle service is part of a pilot program that will run through the end of 2028, with officials collecting data to study the feasibility of future configurations that could accommodate both emergency access and active transportation.

On Monday morning, the first day of the change, traffic on eastbound Interstate 580 was backed up before 8 a.m. to the Harbour Way exit in Richmond, as cars inched toward the toll plaza. At the same time, cyclists lined up at the new shuttle stop near 214 Tewksbury Avenue.

Among the riders was Cameron Simmons, an El Cerrito resident who commutes by e-bike to his job in San Rafael.

“I’m not super excited about it,” Simmons said while loading his bike on the shuttle. “But as long as I can still ride to work every day a little bit instead of driving in traffic, it’s better than nothing.”

Robert Prinz, advocacy director for Bike East Bay, said shuttle ridership appeared lower than typical bridge traffic on the first day of operation.

“If you look at the bridge counters that MTC has, you can see how many people on average will use it on a Monday, and it’s definitely fewer than what we would normally expect,” Prinz said. “This isn’t our ideal solution, but we’re hoping people will still ride it and that it won’t reduce the amount of bike traffic.”

Prinz said his group had asked the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to wait until other planned interchange and toll plaza upgrades were completed before closing the trail.

A driver uses the new breakdown lane to bypass traffic on the San Rafael side of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge on Monday, October 27, 2025.

“We’re still hopeful those projects will help with congestion and make our case for reopening the trail,” Prinz said. “For now, we’re just trying to make the most of it.”

Transportation officials said the weekday closure was needed to restore an emergency lane for disabled vehicles and to improve response times for crashes or medical calls on the upper deck. They said the pilot shuttle program will help ensure continued bicycle access while balancing safety and mobility for all bridge users.

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