CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) — Crews wrapped up work on the westbound side of state Route 78 in the Oceanside area on Tuesday, but while that side of the highway is reopening, a stretch of the eastbound lanes will be closed starting Wednesday.
According to Caltrans officials, eastbound SR-78 lanes between El Camino Real and College Boulevard will be shut down for at least three weeks.
Regarding detours, Caltrans said drivers will have to get onto the westbound SR-78 El Camino Real off-ramp, then go east on Vista Way to the eastbound SR-78 College Boulevard on-ramp.
It’s the next step in construction SR-78, and local businesses near the east side of the highway are already seeing problems.
“It has increased times from 20 minutes to getting over here, to an hour and a half, if not more.”
A nearby Postal Annex location has been in the area for 40 years, and so have most of its customers.
“We’ve really established ourselves with them, because this is a family-owned business it makes you feel a lot more welcome.”
But lane closures on SR-78 have delayed deliveries, and people no longer want to drive to pick them up.
“There’s a lot of postal annexes, they’d rather go to a different location than go out of the way and deal with the all the traffic.”
Other nearby businesses, like Peace Love and Yoga, have had to make adjustments to accommodate customers.
“The morning classes, definitely noticed a difference," said Gina D'Amora, Studio Manager at Peace Love and Yoga. "People running in late. I get it, we know. So we’re pretty lenient as far as when our students come in, knocking at the back door.”
Caltrans said crews are working around the clock to finish construction. They expect to be done in around three weeks.
“I know it’s a huge inconvenience to everyone but you just want to make sure it’s done right, so I’ll deal with it,” D'Amora said.
