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EL CENTRO, Calif.—Construction crews will close all freeway lanes on Interstate 8 (I-8) between Forrester Road and 4th Street/State Route 86 (SR-86) in the City of El Centro Thursday night from 6:30 to 7 in the morning, Friday, according to Caltrans. The 12.5- hour closure is needed to remove and demolish the existing bridge as part of the I-8/Imperial Avenue Interchange Project.
Closures will also take place at the Forrester Road on-ramp to eastbound I-8, the westbound I-8 on- and off-ramps at Imperial Avenue, and the 4th Street/SR-86 and Dogwood Road on-ramps to westbound I-8.
Detour signs will be posted at adjacent interchanges. Motorists on eastbound I-8 will be detoured to Forrester Road north to Evan Hewes Highway east, to southbound 4th Street/SR-86 to I-8.
Motorists on westbound I-8 will be detoured to northbound 4th Street/SR-86, to Evan Hewes Highway west, then to Forrester Road south to I-8.
The recommended detour map for the closure can be found at https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-11/current-projects/i8-imp-interchange.
The nighttime bridge demolition will be loud and dusty. Crews will work to reduce noise and dust as much as possible during construction. Caltrans and the City of El Centro will monitor detour traffic to minimize delays.
Motorists are reminded to allow additional travel time, slow down, watch out for construction personnel and equipment and Be Work Zone Alert.
The construction schedule is subject to change based on weather and other unforeseen factors.
The I-8/Imperial Avenue Interchange Project will remove the existing bridge and eastbound on- and off-ramps, then reconstruct the structure and the on- and off-ramps in both directions. Construction will include a new entrance loop ramp from southbound Imperial Avenue to
eastbound I-8 and create access to the City of El Centro’s upcoming extension of southbound Imperial Avenue to city areas south of I-8. Project construction began spring 2020 with Stage 1 closures of the eastbound on- and off-ramps in early July for eight to 10 months. Stage 2 will require closing the entire interchange for six to eight months in spring 2021. The interchange is
expected to open to traffic in mid-2022 with completion in 2023.
For real-time traffic information including traffic speeds, lane and road closures due to construction and maintenance activities, go to http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.
Follow @SDCaltrans on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SDCaltrans and like Caltrans District 11 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CaltransDistrict11 for news related to state transportation in San Diego and Imperial counties.
Construction During COVID-19 Pandemic: Public works construction is deemed essential and work continues during the pandemic. Our partners, contractors, and workers are following the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the California Department of Public Health guidelines. For more information about COVID-19, go to https://covid19.ca.gov/.
