The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans to reopen the westbound San Bernardino Interstate 10 Freeway (I-10) on-ramp at Kellogg Drive this morning, Nov. 5.
Jim Medina, Caltrans’ public information officer of district 7, said the project was expected to open at 6 a.m., with weather permitting. Delays on the project update have been a direct result of Caltrans providing assistance with the ongoing wildfires across California.
Caltrans informed Cal Poly Pomona that the closure would begin on Sept. 20 and would start segment 3 of the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane (HOV) Construction Project. The project is divided into three sections, each covering a different area on the I-10. Segment 3 stretches from Citrus Street to State Route 57 (SR-57). The closure, which was unanticipated, was a result of additional pavement work and safety testing. Although the on-ramp has now been reopened, construction for segment 3 is expected to be complete in summer 2021.
A traffic message board placed in front of the construction zone originally displayed Oct. 31 as the reopening date for the on-ramp. However, it was pushed back by five days.
According to the Caltrans website, the project goals include adding freeway capacity, reducing congestion, encouraging carpooling and reducing energy consumption. The project will create carpool lanes on both the eastbound and westbound I-10 from the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) to SR-57.
Andrew Martinez, a fifth-year civil engineering student, has been affected by the closure on his commute home. “As it is, I already get traffic going home from school twice a day Monday through Thursday,” Martinez said. “Now having to take the detour every time I leave campus, that adds 15 unnecessary minutes to my commute.”
CPP provided students with two alternative route options to I-10 freeway, both of which added an additional 10-15 minutes of traffic time for drivers.
Fourth-year senior and history student, Thalia Mendoza, is excited to see the on-ramp reopening, as she was also inconvenienced by the closure. “I actually had to change my work schedule because I wasn’t making my shift on time because the commute was (taking) longer,” Mendoza said. “I’m looking forward to getting out of class and not having to feel that stress of having to sit in extra traffic on top of the long school day that I had just finished.”
Daniela Avila | The Poly Post
Martinez and Mendoza expressed their concerns with the productivity of the project; both stated they had never actually witnessed any activity or work being done.
As construction wraps up, commuters can now return to their normal routine using the I-10 freeway westbound on-ramp from Kellogg Drive as no further closures are expected to take place for the remainder of the fall semester.
For more information on the HOV project, please visit: https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/district-7/documents/projects/i-10-projectsforevent-a11y.pdf.
