San Mateo Bridge reopens after protest closed lanes

A group of people describing themselves as Stanford University students blocked westbound traffic on the San Mateo Bridge minutes before 5 p.m. Monday and lanes stayed closed until nearly 6:45 p.m.

Television footage showed officers making arrests soon after the students, carrying banners and a Palestinian flag, took to the bridge. Protesters said they hoped to shut down traffic for 28 minutes.

California Highway Patrol officers arrested 68 protesters on suspicion of blocking a roadway and obstructing entry on public land, both misdemeanors. CHP Officer Daniel Hill said the group had been dropped off in several vehicles.

CHP officers had heard about the protest beforehand and were already staged nearby, Hill said.

By 5:40 p.m. the bridge was reopened to westbound traffic, although two of the three lanes were still blocked off. “It will be a long, slow trip across the bridge, but at least traffic is moving,” said CHP Officer Peter Van Eckhardt.

All of the lanes were reopened at 6:42 p.m., the CHP said.

“Reclaiming MLK means understanding that Dr. King was killed because he made connections between racial oppression and economic oppression and the interconnectedness of struggles across the globe,” said Manny Thompson, a Stanford senior and protester.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jkdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen