Highway Crawls Overnight

Nighttime motorists have lost a lane along the 101 this week while Caltrans measures 140 concrete slabs for replacement in an emergency project. The work between Olive Mill and San Ysidro continued Wednesday from 8 p.m. through 5 a.m. on the northbound side, and on the southbound side Wednesday and Thursday night from 8 p.m. through 7 a.m. Northbound off-ramps at Olive Mill and San Ysidro will be closed at various times, with traffic diverted to the Hermosillo exit. One highway lane remains open, and delays of up to 15 minutes are expected.

Caltrans had been patching the concrete over the years, said spokesperson Jim Shivers, and decided to completely replace the ones in lane number two before they began to break up and become dangerous. Once the measuring is completed, the slabs will be cast offsite. Installation of the new slabs will take two to three weeks, again at night, and is scheduled for next month. The work, estimated to cost $810,000, should be completed by June. The contractor is Peterson-Chase General of Irvine.