California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney said Wednesday morning that he doesn't yet know when the Bay Bridge will reopen, as crews work to repair a section of the bridge where two rods and a crossbar fell onto the upper deck Tuesday, damaging several cars.

The failure occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on the westbound deck, just east of the new S-curve, CHP Sgt. Trent Cross said.

The bridge was closed in both directions at about 8 p.m. after a crossbar and rods used in temporary repair work done to fix a cracked eyebar spotted on the bridge over the Labor Day weekend came loose, Ney said.

An occupant of a Ryder truck suffered a minor injury due to shattered glass from the fallen debris. No other injuries were reported.

Ney said Wednesday that high winds "are drastically slowing down our progress" in fixing the section where the pieces fell. He said workers are putting new pieces of steel in place.

He said "worker safety is our prime concern" and that the repair work is moving more slowly than it would have under calmer conditions.

Once the work is completed, he said, the steel will be tested to see if the bridge can reopen or if it should remain closed for an extended period.

Caltrans engineers haven't yet determined what caused the rods and the crossbar to fail.

Commenting on the failure, Ney said, "we're deeply sorry about the incident and the damage to the property owners and the delays for commuters."

— Bay City News Service