Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Workers are having difficulty repairing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and an estimate of when the structure will re-open has been pushed back again, an official said.

California Transportation Department officials said during an Oct. 29 news conference repairs would be complete by 10 a.m. yesterday, followed by a three-hour stress test, and that the bridge might be opened to motorists in the afternoon.

Instead, workers have been unable to complete repairs as planned, said Bob Haus, a spokesman for the agency known as Caltrans, in an interview yesterday.

“They’re having difficulty getting the saddle and the bracket to line up exactly right,” Haus said in a telephone interview. “When that happens, they can do the tensioning, the testing and the inspecting and everything else.”

Haus said the repairs may continue through part of the weekend and he didn’t have an estimate as to when the bridge will reopen.

The 8.4-mile (13.5-kilometer) bridge, built in 1936, was closed Oct. 27 after a crossbar and two steel tie rods came loose and fell, Caltrans Director Randell “Randy” Iwasaki said at the Oct. 29 news conference.

Many commuters had to turn to Bay Area Rapid Transit trains, or BART, which experienced a record number of riders. The transit agency said yesterday it would run services 24 hours this weekend if the bridge didn’t open.

The shutdown has also forced many motorists from Oakland, Berkeley and other East Bay suburbs to drive north and take the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge into San Rafael, then head south over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. Another option is to drive south to the San Mateo Bridge, then head north to San Francisco.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Flinn in San Francisco at rflinn@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 31, 2009 00:01 EDT