News
710 Fwy. Will Be Closed Or Restricted From 405 To PCH For 11 Weekends Starting March 28 For Repaving; We Provide Details & Info
(March 18, 2003) -- The good news is LB's 710 freeway is being repaved between the 405 freeway and Pacific Coast Highway. The bad news is, that stretch will be shut down in whole or in part over 11 weekends starting March 28 (with exceptions for the Grand Prix, Easter & Memorial Day).
The California Dept. of Transportation (Caltrans) and LB officials are forewarning drivers to find alternate routes while repaving takes place between PCH and the 405 on the following schedule:
March 28, April 4, April 25, May 2, May 9, May 16, May 30, June 6, June 13, June 20 and June 27 (weather permitting). Caltrans is suspending work for the Grand Prix, Easter or Memorial Day weekends.
On weekends when work proceeds:
- Fridays 11 p.m. to Saturdays 7 a.m.: 710 completely closed b/w 405 & PCH
- Saturdays 7 a.m. to Sundays 10 p.m.: Two lanes of traffic in each direction remain open to motorists
- Sundays 10 p.m. to Mondays 5 a.m.: 710 completely closed b/w 405 & PCH
In a written release, Caltrans says "the first stages of work were done during weeknights when traffic volumes are lighter [but] it will be necessary to close some freeway lanes in both directions for 10 extended weekends...to complete the more complex stages of construction."
Caltrans says the repaving involves a "unique pilot project (a joint effort between Caltrans and the paving industry including contractors and material suppliers) [which] challenged the asphalt industry to produce a longer-lasting asphalt (flexible) pavement product. The project incorporates new asphalt mix designs, stricter material and construction specifications and new pavement structural design concepts. The goal is to develop and demonstrate new techniques that can be effectively used to replace aging pavements throughout the state with minimum traffic delay and less inconvenience to motorists."
The agency also says it "will offer the contractor special incentives to complete the work more quickly, possibly reducing the number of extended weekend closures. "
Here are Caltrans' suggested alternate routes (although LB locals undoubtedly have their own):
FOR AUTOMOBILES:
Northbound from Long Beach Area:
Use westbound Route 47 to northbound Route 110
Use northbound Route 103 to westbound Sepulveda Boulevard to northbound
Alameda Street
Use northbound Alameda Street, Long Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue
to Route 405 and 710 (signed detours)
Southbound to Long Beach Area:
Use southbound Route 5 to southbound Route 605 to westbound Route 22/7th Street
Use eastbound Route 105 or 91 to southbound Route 605 to westbound Route 22/7th Street
Use westbound Route 105 or 91 to southbound Route 110 to eastbound Route 47
Northbound on Route 405 to Long Beach Area:
Use westbound Route 22/7th Street
Use southbound Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach Boulevard, Santa Fe Avenue and Alameda
Street to Long Beach area (signed detours)
Southbound on Route 405 to Long Beach Area:
Use southbound Route 110 to eastbound Route 47
Use southbound Alameda Street, Santa Fe Avenue, Long Beach Boulevard and Atlantic
Avenue to Long Beach area (signed detours)
FOR TRUCKS:
Northbound from Ports Area:
Use westbound Route 47 to northbound Route 110
Use northbound Route 103 to westbound Sepulveda Boulevard to northbound
Alameda Street
Southbound to Ports Area:
Use southbound Route 110 to eastbound Route 47/Ocean Boulevard
Use southbound Alameda Street
In its release, Caltrans notes:
I-710 is 46 years old, heavily traveled (155,000 Average Daily Traffic), and has one of the highest concentrations of deteriorated pavement in the state. Big-rig trucks carrying cargo from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles account for 13 percent of the total traffic on I-710. The original design assumed only five percent of the traffic would be trucks.
Renewing pavement on urban highways is a critical issue confronting every transportation agency today. Much of the Interstate Highway System was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is now showing signs of wear. The Caltrans Longer Life Pavement Rehabilitation Team has been working with pavement industry representatives and the University of California at Berkeley through its Pavement Research Center to improve pavement performance, to make the roads ride smoother and last longer.
Caltrans recently conducted a similar pilot project on three miles of the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10) through Pomona. In that $16-million contract, Morrison Knudsen Corporation of Highland, California rehabilitated the freeway using new, fast-setting concrete paving techniques. Innovative procedures were used to replace damaged pavement slabs with Fast Setting Hydraulic Cement Concrete (rigid pavement) that hardened and was ready for traffic in just four hours.
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