AND LET THE DELAYS BEGIN HIGHWAY 138 CLOSURES TO START.Byline: Daily News WRIGHTWOOD -- Starting today, Highway 138 will be closed for all but four hours every weekday from the desert community of Phelan to the Highway 2 junction near Wrightwood. Expected to last through mid-September, the closure is being done for a $44.4 million widening project that is adding truck lanes where the two-lane highway climbs over the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. . To get around the closed section, motorists will be directed onto state Highway 18, U.S. Highway 395 and Interstate in·ter·state adj. Involving, existing between, or connecting two or more states. n. One of a system of highways extending between the major cities of the 48 contiguous United States. Noun 1. 15, adding about 15 miles to the normally 21-mile trip between Highway 18 and Interstate 15. Vehicles will be allowed to pass through the construction zone behind a pilot vehicle between 5 and 7 a.m. and 6 and 8 p.m. weekdays. The road will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Caltrans officials had originally planned to close the highway entirely this summer, but agreed to let traffic through one lane at a time because of complaints from residents of the nearby communities. ``It seems to me, as difficult as it is, there is at least a desire on everybody's part to be cooperative and get the job done,'' said state Sen. George Runner George C. Runner, Jr. (born March 25 1952 in Scotia, New York) is a Republican California State Senator, who represents the 17th Senate District, which includes portions of Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County. , R-Lancaster, whose district includes the area. The road closure was planned because it wasn't safe to have vehicles traveling on a 24-foot-wide road as construction crews brought down hills and filled canyons bordering the road, and extended drainage drainage, in agriculture drainage, in agriculture, the removal of excess water from the soil, either by a system of surface ditches, or by underground conduits if required by soil conditions and land contour. culverts beneath it, Caltrans officials said. Only one lane will be in use when the highway is open. Flagmen will direct traffic, with both directions taking turns sharing the road. Expected to be concluded in spring 2008, the widening is aimed at reducing head-on collisions A head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side-collision or rear-end collision. Rail transport With rail, a head-on collision often implies a collision on a single line railway. from motorists passing slower-moving vehicles. The construction project will also widen wid·en tr. & intr.v. wid·ened, wid·en·ing, wid·ens To make or become wide or wider. wid  en·er n. the highway's
shoulders to eight feet to give motorists a place to pull over, and
realign re·a·lign tr.v. re·a·ligned, re·a·lign·ing, re·a·ligns 1. To put back into proper order or alignment. 2. To make new groupings of or working arrangements between. a curve west of Lone Pine Canyon Road, near the Mormon Rocks formation, Caltrans said. In summer 2007, the highway is expected to be closed from Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) segment of California State Route 2 in the United States. The road is 66 miles in length, with its western terminus at the intersection at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge and its eastern south to Hess Road, on the Interstate 15 side of the summit. Motorists will use Highway 18, U.S. 395 and Interstate 15 to get around that closure, too. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) Highway 138, top, will be closed for all but four hours every weekday from the community of Phelan to the Highway 2 junction starting today for construction, above and left. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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