A construction project that will fully close a four mile section of Highway 99 through Sacramento will begin on Friday night, and officials are warning locals to brace themselves.
The closure will occur from Friday, June 11th at 8 p.m. until Wednesday, June 16th at 4 a.m. and includes four miles of Highway 99, from 47th Avenue to the Highway 50 interchange, in both directions.
According to The Sacramento Bee, the major shutdown is a part of the ‘Fix SAC 99’ Project, which will complete essential repairs on the bridge deck of the freeway at the 21st Avenue overcrossing, which is already 62 years old. The construction project is considered a preventative measure to extend the roadway’s lifespan and keep ‘emergency operations’ from becoming ‘necessary.’
“There is currently corrosion on the surface deck, concrete spalling, cracks, the joint seals need to be replaced, and the bridge deck has begun to deteriorate due to wear and tear from high traffic volumes, freight movement, weather and age,” Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation) said in a statement.
Caltrans says they will be using “innovative accelerated bridge construction techniques” and says that the contracting company, Bridgeway Civil Constructors, will “pre-cast and inspect the girders off-site away from the construction site then haul the girders to the location of the bridge deck where crews will bind the girders together and overlay the deck.”
Although a closure shutting down both directions of a major highway for four days and some change may seem drastic, officials say that this is a sort of a ‘rip the bandaid’ strategy, and that it will avoid the inconvenience of six-month-long partial closures.
“This will be the largest closure the Sacramento region has probably ever seen,” Caltrans spokeswoman Angela DaPrato wrote in an email.
Because of the enormity of the project, Caltrans will halt all other Sacramento freeway work throughout the duration of the Highway 99 repair.
The ramp and connector lane closures will occur at the following locations:
▪ The on-ramp from 16th Street to eastbound Highway 50
▪ The on-ramp from 29th Street/H Street to westbound Business 80/Capital City Freeway
▪ The on-ramp from 29th Street/N Street to westbound Business 80/Capital City Freeway
▪ The on-ramp from 29th Street/T Street to southbound Highway 99
▪ The on-ramp from Broadway to southbound Highway 99
▪ The offramp from southbound Highway 99 to 12th Street
▪ The offramp from northbound Highway 99 to 12th Street
▪ The on-ramp from 14th Avenue/30th Street to southbound Highway 99
▪ The on-ramp (slip) from Fruitridge Road to northbound Highway 99
▪ The on-ramp (loop) from Fruitridge Road to northbound Highway 99
▪ The on-ramp (slip) from East 47th Avenue to northbound Highway 99
▪ The on-ramp (loop) from West 47th Avenue to northbound Highway 99
Drivers looking to travel through the area are advised to find detours throughout the duration of the construction project. Officials suggest Interstate 5, Highway 50, Highway 104, and several major thoroughfares such as Elk Grove Boulevard and Florin road as potential alternate routes.