Vallejo Mare Island Bridge Hopes to Reopen Friday Giving La Onda Festival Access

The Mare Island Causeway Bridge which connects Vallejo to Napa's Napa River section will be closed until Friday May 31.Photo byphoto by Mark Pierce

In a story that shows horrible luck and timing, the boats that came to BottleRock in Napa are not going anywhere anytime soon. Vallejo City Manager Andrew Murray released to the press yesterday that mechanical problems are affecting the Mare Island Causeway Bridge and that it probably won't be fixed until Friday. Right now it can't open and close to allow boat traffic to go through it.

In his statement, Murray said, "Given that the safety of our residents is our top priority, we chose to keep the bridge in the lowered position to ensure our emergency vehicles can pass without delay."

This bridge is important because it allows people to go to Napa through the Napa River. The bridge is going to be in the down position to allow for emergency vehicle traffic. The Napa River is a popular spot for some boaters to use to get to the Napa Yacht Club so they can easily attend the BottleRock music festival. Even though the media was sharing stories about the bridge being damaged, some didn't get the news. Some boat owners found out the hard way that they could not use the Napa River so they had to fight and battle the traffic going into the event.

What makes matters worse is that the City of Napa will be bombarded again with people as the first annual La Onda Festival by BottleRock will occur on Saturday, June 1, and Sunday, June 2nd. Even though the hopes are that the bridge will be fixed by Friday, there is no guarantee so they've asked those who may use the waterway to keep an ear out to the local news for the latest updates.