5-day closure of westbound 210 Freeway through San Gabriel Valley underway
IRWINDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- The five-day closure of the westbound 210 Freeway in the San Gabriel Valley was fully underway Thursday morning, but things got off to a bumpy start.
On Wednesday night, a stretch of the freeway was shut down between the 605 Freeway and Irwindale Avenue to make way for crews who will make repairs to the hinges of the freeway bridge over the San Gabriel River.
The closure is expected to last through Tuesday, July 26 at 5 a.m.
During the closure, Caltrans said the eastbound side of the freeway would be converted to three lanes going both directions.
However, that took some time to get underway. Both sides of the freeway were shut down until just before 5 a.m. when the eastbound side was converted for moving traffic.
Caltrans advises commuters to expect major delays and to use the 10 or 60 freeway as alternate routes.
The warnings came early and Caltrans told ABC7 drivers appear to be listening.
"They're looking at their apps, and they're seeing a big, red line right next to where the closure is at and that's not a good sign. That's a sign you don't want to go that way," said Caltrans spokesperson Eric Menjibar.
Caltrans is demolishing and replacing two sections of the roughly 50-year old bridge to upgrade the hinges.
It's part of a $30 million maintenance project that is - right now - chugging along.
"So far, we've demolished a good portion of the hinges, of the two hinges already," Menjibar Thursday afternoon. "We started at a little after midnight, and we're progressing right on schedule."
The nightmare for commuters is expected to last at least 126 hours, which adds up to at least five days.
"I just got to think positive," said one driver. "I've just got to plan ahead."
Officials say the project is partially funded by Senate Bill 1, which is the gas tax.
After work on the westbound side is complete, a second five-day closure on the eastbound side of the freeway is planned for some time in August.
