Attention drivers to Vegas: Fill up on gas if you’re using the Cajon Pass.
You’re in for delays starting Friday.
Pavement rehabilitation on the 15 Freeway through the Cajon Pass will complicate driving for about 10 weeks beginning Friday morning.
Caltrans will use what it calls the crossover method, meaning one or two lanes of southbound traffic on the 15 will be moved to the northbound 15 using a Quick Change Mobile Barrier, according to a news release.
“For 10 weeks this configuration will be in place and we will be having the crossover period moving back and forth from one to two lanes, depending on the peak commute hour,” said Terri Kasinga, a Caltrans spokeswoman, at a Wednesday news conference.
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Four lanes of traffic will remain open on the northbound 15, Caltrans says.
The crossover lanes will limit access to on-ramps and off-ramps for Highway 138 and Cleghorn Road, which drivers will have to access on the mainline of 15 South.
Trucks, buses, vehicles towing trailers and recreational vehicles won’t be allowed in the crossover lanes, and Caltrans says vehicles in poor repair shouldn’t use them.
“First and foremost the speed limit is 60 miles an hour in the pass,” Kasinga said. “There will be enhanced (California Highway Patrol) enforcement during this 10-week crossover period, and this is a double fine zone.”
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Officials advise everyone to fill their gas tank before driving up or down the pass and to expect delays while the crossover lanes are in use. More signs will be erected to warn motorists of the traffic changes.
The plan is to remove them by Thanksgiving, Caltrans says in a news release that also says officials understand the inconvenience and long delay it causes drivers.
“The department thanks the traveling public for their perseverance and patience while the project continues,” the statement says. “There are benefits to using the reversible lane concept to complete the paving: saves taxpayer dollars, shortens the project schedule before and during construction, provides a longer cure time with a better quality product, longer life pavement (up to 60 years), reduces future maintenance activities and lane closures, and provides a safer work zone for motorists and highway workers.”
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The construction is part of a $120 million pavement rehabilitation project that Caltrans says is on track for completion in 2016.