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Construction accident closes down major San Francisco freeway

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Emergency work was expected to block off the principal freeway connecting San Francisco to the south for at least 20 hours, after a construction crane crashed into and demolished a tower supporting high-voltage power lines.

"All southbound and northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101 are closed down until possibly 5 p.m. today," Officer Eric Anderson of the California Highway Patrol said on Saturday, warning of significant traffic delays.

The crane was being used to construct a new freeway overpass in Burlingame, a suburb south of San Francisco.

Officer Art Montiel of the highway patrol said the crane struck Pacific Gas & Electric (P&G) towers, sending the power lines over the freeway. He said the power company had to wait for heavy equipment to arrive on the scene.

The accident, reported at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, coincided with a momentary power disruption in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. The massive scoreboard at AT&T Park went dark momentarily during a San Francisco Giants game against the St. Louis Cardinals. A representative from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was not immediately available for comment.

There were no injuries reported.

(Reporting by Fiona Ortiz; editing by Andrew Roche)