Highway 299 motorists driving west of Redding should plan for lane closures and at least 15-minute travel delays over Fourth of July week and into mid-July, the California Department of Transportation announced.
Traffic controls will direct vehicles around closed lanes as crews repair the highway east of Buckhorn Summit, Caltrans said in the announcement.
That stretch of highway is in the western Shasta County mountains near the Trinity County border.
Motorists will see intermittent traffic controls during daytime hours as crews finish repairs on the eastbound cliff-side lane, Caltrans announced on June 26. The agency asked that drivers slow down and watch for workers near the repair project.
“The slide area remains stable and does not pose any safety concerns for the traveling public,” Caltrans said in May, when it announced work on the highway was delayed and deadlines pushed back to mid-summer.
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Why Highway 299 repairs are taking so long
Initial emergency repairs began after Caltrans reported in March that severe weather damaged a pullout and a portion of the eastbound shoulder.
Crews thought they could finish and open the section of highway by May, before Memorial Day weekend, but engineers found cracks and other damage was more extensive than Caltrans first expected. The state paused repairs while it revised plans for the pricier-than-expected project.
The additional preventative repair work will ensure the cracks don’t develop into larger issues in the future, Caltrans said in spring.
Crews returned to work on the highway in late May.
Workers plan to wrap up initial paving before July 4, Caltrans reported on June 26. Starting the week of June 29, crews will install guardrails and erosion controls, paint stripes, improve water drainage off the highway and do a final clean up.
They should finish up around July 18, according to the agency’s timetable.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal, Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: July 4 holiday traffic delays on Highway 299 expected west of Redding
Reporting by Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
