RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Seam after seam in the slabs of concrete that make up the 60 Freeway show its age. This stretch is more than 40 years old and it has the wrinkles to show it, which are undergoing a $150 million changes.
“It’s falling apart as everybody knows,” says California Department of Transportation Senior Construction Engineer Ashraf Mohammed.
No one knows this freeway better than Ashraf Mohammed - a Senior Construction Engineer for Caltrans. He looks onto the 60 Freeway as his plan for re-paving the East to West thruway, which is about to take shape.
“To do it safely we have to shut down one side at a time,” said Mohammed.
Caltrans is calling it “60 Swarm,” a plan to close a 12-mile stretch of the freeway in one direction at a time for 15 weekends starting Friday, July 26.
The stretch extending from Interstate 15 at Euclid Avenue to the intersection of the 60, 91 and 215 Freeways is in Caltrans District 8.
Chief of Public Affairs Terri Kasinga isn’t pretending this project is going to be easy on the public. A commuter herself, she knows the weekend shut downs will be a major inconvenience for drivers.
“The ‘60 Swarm’ is going to be the Godzilla of ‘Carmageddon’ and ‘Coronageddon,’” Kasinga said.
Schedule for construction:
- 8 weekend closures on the eastbound side
- Followed by 7 weekends on the westbound side
- Work is beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday nights
- Work finishes up at 5 a.m. on Monday mornings
Caltrans says some of the benefits to doing the full closures, including savings for taxpayers, by bundling construction means a quicker overall completion for the re-paving. Additionally maintenance crews will be able to complete sign work, landscape, and remove graffiti simultaneously.
The directional closure portion will last through mid-November with work only suspended over Labor Day weekend and Veteran’s Day weekend.
The project will last two-and-a-half to three years overall, but Ashraf says it has to be done for both safety and convenience. The “Swarm” is coming.