SAN FRANCISCO — Drivers searching for a full Highway 101 closure in San Francisco this weekend may run into outdated information.
The short answer is no: southbound US-101 at Hospital Curve is not fully closing Oct. 2–5.
Caltrans moved that previously announced full southbound closure to November. But two other significant freeway restrictions will still begin Friday night: the southbound Central Freeway connector to southbound US-101 and the 10th Street on-ramp will close, while northbound I-280 near Mariposa Street and the US-101 interchange will be reduced to one lane.
What closes from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5?
The southbound Central Freeway-to-southbound US-101 connector and the 10th Street on-ramp close at 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 and are scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5.
Caltrans says the closure is needed for work on joints in the connector structure. The agency recommends using the 7th Street on-ramp as the primary way to reach southbound US-101 during the closure.
How do you get onto southbound 101 while the 10th Street ramp is closed?
Drivers who can reach the 7th Street entrance should use that on-ramp for southbound US-101.
Caltrans says drivers who miss it will be directed onto the eastbound connector, exit at 4th Street, loop by way of 3rd Street and re-enter using the 5th Street on-ramp. The agency advises allowing additional time and following posted detour signs.
Northbound I-280 will be down to one lane
A separate project begins slightly earlier Friday.
From 10 p.m. Oct. 2 until 5 a.m. Oct. 5, northbound I-280 will be reduced to one lane between Mariposa Street and the US-101 interchange. Southbound I-280 is scheduled to remain open.
That overlap could produce backups around the southeastern approaches to downtown even though neither freeway is completely closed for the weekend.
What happened to the planned Hospital Curve closure?
Caltrans originally scheduled a full southbound US-101 Hospital Curve closure for Oct. 2–5.
That work has been rescheduled. Caltrans’s current project schedule shows a full southbound closure for Oct. 16–19 and says the previously planned Oct. 2–5 closure has been moved to Nov. 6–9.
That distinction matters because older notices and search results may still refer to the superseded Oct. 2–5 Hospital Curve schedule.
Which weekend events could make traffic worse?
The freeway work coincides with a busy San Francisco weekend that includes Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park, the Castro Street Fair on Sunday and Disney Worlds Collide at Chase Center on Saturday.
Drivers do not need to avoid all of US-101, but anyone who normally uses the Central Freeway connector, the 10th Street entrance or northbound I-280 near Mariposa should plan another route or additional travel time.
When do the ramps and lanes reopen?
The I-280 lane restriction is scheduled to end at 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5. The Central Freeway connector and 10th Street on-ramp are scheduled to reopen one hour later, at 6 a.m.
Caltrans says construction schedules can change because of weather or field conditions. Drivers should check current conditions immediately before traveling.