Man climbs down from Bay Bridge center anchorage after 2 hours

A California Highway Patrol officer negotiated with a man on top of a Bay Bridge anchorage Tuesday. A California Highway Patrol officer negotiated with a man on top of a Bay Bridge anchorage Tuesday. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Man climbs down from Bay Bridge center anchorage after 2 hours 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A man perched on the center anchorage of the Bay Bridge prompted lane closures and traffic gridlock for more than two hours Wednesday before California Highway Patrol officers talked him into coming down.

The man climbed down voluntarily and was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m.

“He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for a mental health evaluation,” said Officer Vu Williams, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. He added that the man will remain at the hospital for 72 hours for a psychiatric evaluation.

The incident on the bridge began a bit before 10:30 a.m., when the man’s truck broke down and was blocking the far left westbound lane of the roadway, Williams said.

When a tow truck arrived, the man got out of his vehicle, climbed onto the center anchorage of the bridge and refused to come down, he said.

A Sig-alert was issued closing two westbound lanes of Interstate 80, and San Francisco police helped the CHP hold the perimeter while officers spoke to the man until he eventually came down.

The man, whose name was not immediately released, climbed up on the center anchorage between Treasure Island and the Fremont off ramp, according to Williams.

“Right now, we’re looking into whether mental health was the issue here, or whether there were violations of any vehicle or criminal codes that we need to bring charges for,” he said. “But there are no charges pending right now.”

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi