McClure Tunnel Closes Overnight In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA — The tunnel that connects the Santa Monica (10) Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway is scheduled to close overnight for upgrades next week, Caltrans reminded drivers Friday.

The McClure Tunnel and nearby ramps will shut down between Jan. 11 and Jan. 18 during the work, which will span a mile of the freeway between Lincoln Boulevard and the PCH Broadway Pedestrian Overpass.

Ramps from the eastbound and westbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway and PCH are expected to close mainly between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Included are the eastbound and westbound I-10 on-ramps at Lincoln Boulevard, the Fourth Street I- 10 on-ramp and the off-ramp at Ocean Avenue from PCH.

The tunnel will be closed in both directions from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and drivers will be detoured around the tunnel using Olympic Boulevard. Closures could change depending on the weather, Caltrans said.

Crews will update the lighting system inside the tunnel and add a speed radar.

A warning system to alert drivers to traffic inside the tunnel, which aims to reduce crashes, will be the first in Los Angeles County. It will tell drivers to slow as they approach.

New signs in the area will also be installed and new pavement will be laid in the tunnel. The cost of the project is $6.3 million.

Drivers are encouraged to use other routes during construction.

Name that tunnel. #mccluretunnel pic.twitter.com/faELAE62sM
— andrea mcneill levy (@AndreaLMcNeill) January 5, 2021

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.