SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Efforts to curb wrong-way driving crashes throughout San Diego County will continue over the next two months as Caltrans crews perform nightly work revamping 33 ramps along Interstate 5, Caltrans said Wednesday.
Closures will occur Thursday nights through Saturday mornings on various I-5 ramps across the county, with two to three ramps to be closed at any one time, according to Caltrans.
This week's closures will take place on Thursday from 9 p.m. to Friday 5 a.m., and Saturday from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. and will involve the removal and replacement of pavement delineation. Other work will include new striping at off-ramps and gore points along the highway, as well as the installation of specialized reflectors, which Caltrans said will appear red to drivers entering freeways from the wrong direction.
Caltrans said its initial 2016 pilot program to install the specialized reflectors led to a 64% decrease in San Diego in wrong-way drivers reported to the California Highway Patrol.
"This effort addresses off-ramps as the main access point for drivers entering the freeway in the wrong direction," said Gustavo Dallarda, director of Caltrans District 11 in San Diego and Imperial counties.
"With this upgraded infrastructure, we hope to significantly reduce wrong-way driving incidents."
Current ramp closure information is available at https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-11/popular-links/d11wwd, but the construction schedule is subject to changes due to weather and/or traffic incidents.
