CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Quake-Damaged Road to Reopen

In great news for San Francisco-bound Peninsula commuters, often stalled in 10-mile “parking lots,” Caltrans targeted October for full reopening of the earthquake-stricken Interstate 280 Extension. “If contractors don’t make the deadline they’ll be penalized $10,000 a day,” said Caltrans spokesman Greg Bayol. Word came in a progress report on the $32.7-million repair job to the I-280 artery that, before the Oct. 17 temblor, carried 87,000 cars a day. Most of the traffic was from U.S. 101, which carries 274,000 cars a day at Army Street. The closure of the elevated, three-mile stretch has forced the traffic into a steamy squeeze at the Army Street interchange, sometimes piling traffic up back to the airport, 10 miles south.