UPDATE: 710 Partially Reopens for Traffic

UPDATE:

Some lanes on the 710 Freeway reopened Saturday morning as Day 1 of the Son of Carmageddon experience began.

On weekends from now through mid-October, a 6-mile-plus stretch of freeway will shut down or have traffic severely curtailed so the road can be repaved.

The full and partial closures between the 105 Freeway and Atlantic Boulevard will begin at 11:59 p.m. on Fridays and continue through 5 a.m. on Mondays, said Maria Raptis of Caltrans.

The work, which is scheduled for 10 consecutive weekends (except Labor Day weekend) through Oct. 17, will proceed as follows:

On Fridays at 11:59 p.m., the entire freeway will close for six hours as workers install moveable median barriers and restripe the lanes of the north 710.

At 6 a.m. on Saturdays, north and southbound traffic will resume, but only on one half of the freeway, divided by the temporary barriers. The other half of the freeway will be closed for resurfacing.

Traffic will be restricted to 45 mph, and no oversize loads will be
permitted because the lanes will be narrower than usual, Raptis said.

On Sundays at 11 p.m., the entire freeway will close again while workers remove the temporary barriers and restripe the lanes back to normal, so the full freeway can reopen by 5 a.m. for Monday morning commutes.

In addition, the following ramps and connectors will be closed throughout each weekend:

• on-ramps to the north 710 from Imperial Highway, Firestone Boulevard and Florence Avenue
• on-ramps to the south 710 from Atlantic Boulevard, Florence Avenue and Firestone Boulevard
• off-ramps from the south 710 at Florence Avenue and Firestone Boulevard
• eastbound and westbound connectors from the 105 Freeway to the north 710 Freeway.

The closures are weather permitting, and subject to change.

After about five weekends, the work will be done on the opposite side of the 710 Freeway, and traffic patterns will be adjusted accordingly, Raptis said.

The work is part of the I-710 Long Life pavement Project from Firestone Boulevard to Atlantic Boulevard.

-- City News Service