60 Freeway 55-hour Closure Could Snarl Traffic Around Baldwin Park

It may not be "Carmageddon,'' but a series of 55-hour weekend closures beginning tonight and affecting some or all lanes of the Pomona (60) Freeway in Industry could create some traffic nightmares in the San Gabriel Valley.

Caltrans has not scheduled freeway closures this weekend in the I-10 Freeway in Baldwin Park as they have done for several months. 

Dubbed "Summer Slam'' by Caltrans, the closures will affect lanes in both directions between Nogales Street and Fullerton Road.

"Although this is not `Carmageddon,' it is a good opportunity to stay home and discover your neighborhoods,'' Caltrans district director Michael Miles said.

The "Carmageddon'' closures of the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass never resulted in the mass traffic jams that officials feared, thanks largely to pre-closure publicity urging residents to stay off the roads.

Transportation officials held a news conference earlier this week in hopes of spreading the word about the closures on the 60 Freeway, noting that more than 250,000 vehicles are driven on the affected stretch of freeway daily in each direction.

 Beginning at 10 p.m., three westbound lanes of the freeway will be closed until 5 a.m. Monday. The entire westbound freeway will be closed from 1 to 5 a.m. Saturday and Monday.

Other planned closures are:

   -- from 10 p.m. July 26 to 5 a.m. July 29, two westbound lanes will be closed;
   -- from 10 p.m. Aug. 9 to 5 a.m. Aug. 12, three eastbound lanes will be closed; and
   -- from 10 p.m. Aug. 23 to 5 a.m. Aug. 26, two eastbound lanes will be closed.
  
Full freeway closures will be in effect in the same direction of each weekend closure on Saturdays between 1 and 5 a.m., and again on Mondays from 1 to 5 a.m., although the closures are subject to weather conditions and could change.

The project involves resurfacing the 60 Freeway between the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway and the Orange (57) Freeway and is scheduled for completion in late 2014.

- City News Service