California Department of Transportation officials said late Wednesday afternoon it was highly unlikely the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge would be repaired and open in time for the Thursday morning commute.

Caltrans and construction crews worked Tuesday night and as much as they safely could in windy conditions Wednesday to repair the bridge after a 5,000-pound crossbeam and two rods fell into rush-hour traffic Tuesday evening.

"We would like to apologize for the fact that the Bay Bridge is out of service at this time," said Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney. "We are deeply sympathetic to all of the vehicles that were delayed yesterday when, when this issue happened with the I-bar repair failure and for the few vehicles that were actually damaged by the materials that fell on them. We will be working with those vehicle owners to restore their property."

Earlier Thursday, the federal government announced it was sending engineers to help determine what caused the failure.

Federal Highway Administration spokeswoman Nancy Singer said the agency did not inspect the original Labor Day weekend repair, relying only on state inspection reports.

The pieces that broke Tuesday evening were emergency repairs done after crews discovered a cracked link during an earthquake safety upgrade over the Labor Day weekend.

Singer said the agency's bridge experts have been dispatched to assist Caltrans in finding out why that fix failed.

Around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the rods and crossbeam broke off and struck three vehicles. At first, Caltrans believed it was a cable that fell.

A passenger in a Ryder truck was injured when some metal pieces shattered the truck's glass. No other injuries were reported.

Several engineers reportedly suspect high winds caused the metal brace to break loose. MCM Construction in North Highlands is working with Caltrans to assess and repair the damage.

Construction crews worked through the night, bringing in heavy equipment to try to move the metal and make repairs. But winds gusting to 35 miles an hour have been making work difficult. Caltrans said with several thousand pounds of steel involved, "worker safety is a concern."

Ney said the wind was a contributing factor in the failure of the rods.

Some 280,000 motorists use the bridge daily.

Alternate Routes

BART is operating longer trains throughout the day. Extra ferry service will be available on the Oakland-Alameda Ferry.

The Caltrans Bay Bridge bicycle shuttle will not only remain in operation, but will add an additional transport every hour throughout the day. Bicyclists will be transported via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Bridge toll booths will be fully staffed at all state owned and the Golden Gate bridges.

The 92/880 interchange was restriped to allow two lanes of traffic from southbound 880 to westbound 92 to handle the extra traffic load. Additionally, the northbound 880 connector to westbound 92 was closed. Drivers are detoured via Tennyson Road or Industrial Boulevard to access westbound 92.