In order to finish repairing the bridge spanning the San Gabriel River of the westbound 210 Freeway near Irwindale, Caltrans will be closing all lanes of the freeway beginning Monday night, July 25.
The complete closure of the 210 Freeway between Irwindale Avenue and the 605 Freeway interchange starts at 10 p.m. and continues through 5 a.m. Tuesday, July 26, Caltrans announced on Monday.
This seven-hour closure is necessary for workers to remove equipment and restripe the lanes, said Eric Menjivar, Caltrans spokesperson.
The nighttime closure means all eastbound and westbound lanes of the 210 will be closed at that 1.3-mile section. All westbound vehicles will be forced to exit at Irwindale Avenue and follow detour signs back to the freeway. Eastbound traffic will be diverted to the 605 Freeway.
Caltrans advises motorists to avoid the area and instead, take other east-west freeways, such as the 10 or the 60. Or hop on public transportation, such as the L Line (formerly Gold Line) light rail service, which runs from Los Angeles to Azusa.
The brief, overnight closure also includes closing the following feeder lanes: westbound 210 Irwindale Avenue on-ramps; westbound 210 to southbound 605 connector; 605 to eastbound 210 connector; eastbound 210 Mt. Olive on-ramps.
On Tuesday morning, Caltrans will reopen the freeway as normal, ending the five-day work closure that began on Wednesday, July 20.
Menjivar said the bridge repair and concrete replacements were completed successfully. “We are able to finish on time. Now we have to wait until we fully close the freeway (Monday night) in order to restripe,” he said on Monday morning.
Early Tuesday, Caltrans will restore the 210 Freeway to normal. At that spot, that means six lanes in each direction will be flowing, he said. Over the last five days, backups occurred as expected, at certain times resulting in one-hour delays, he said.
More traffic snarled westbound in the mornings, as commuters flowed into LA County from eastern LA County and San Bernardino County. Eastbound traffic jammed more often in the afternoon, when commuters were returning home, he said.
No construction workers were injured. “We didn’t have any issues,” he said. Motorists mostly slowed down in the construction zone, he added. Caltrans digital signs also included the delay times, a new feature, he said.
A second, five-day, continuous closure affecting eastbound 210 lanes will occur on Wednesday, Aug. 17 through Tuesday, August 23, for repairs to the other half of the freeway bridge, Caltrans announced. Caltrans again will allow three lanes to be open by splitting the westerly lanes into three for eastbound and three for westbound drivers, a 50% reduction both ways.
Caltrans is asking motorists to make different plans during those five days. They can also check the Caltrans QuickMap for up-to-the-minute traffic conditions or the District 7 website.
The San Gabriel River Trail — often used by cyclists — will be kept open during construction.
The $30 million project – which includes $1.7 million from SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 – will upgrade existing bridge hinges and railings and strengthen bridge decks to improve safety.