60 Freeway Weekend Closures Start Friday For `Swarm' Project

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The Pomona (60) Freeway between Riverside and Chino
will be partially shut down Friday night to Monday morning and on multiple
occasions into the fall to facilitate resurfacing and other projects,
collectively known as the ``60 Swarm,'' according to Caltrans.
   Agency officials will join representatives from the California Highway
Patrol and the Riverside County Transportation Commission on Tuesday to
outline Swarm plans and impacts. The briefing is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the
Caltrans Park & Ride on Granite Hill Drive in Glen Avon.
   Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, crews are scheduled to close the entire
eastbound 60 between Interstate 15 in Ontario and the 60/91/215 interchange in
Riverside. The closure will end at 5 a.m. Monday. According to Caltrans, the
weekend nighttime closures on the eastbound 60 will continue, over the same 55-
hour periods, until Sept. 9.
   The first overnight closure of the westbound 60 is scheduled for
Friday, Sept. 20, and will also begin at 10 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. Monday.
Officials said the westbound closure will span the same 55-hour period that
weekend -- and in the ensuing six weekends, ending Oct. 28.
   Closures for 2020 have not been announced.
   Entrance and exit ramps to the closed sections of the 60 will be
inaccessible to traffic. Crews will use the closures to remove and replace
entire slabs of pavement, according to Caltrans.
   The agency is recommending that motorists travel Interstate 10 or
state Route 91 during the shutdowns. However, surface streets in Jurupa Valley
and Riverside will also be available.
   In addition to the shutdowns, intermittent and extended lane closures
are planned in the 20-mile construction zone, between Euclid Avenue in Ontario
and the 60/91/215, officials said, adding that portions of the Interstate
15/Route 60 Interchange in Ontario will also be periodically off-limits for the
duration of construction.
   Single lane closures will begin Monday night in several locations and
end in November 2021, when the pavement replacement project is slated to
conclude, according to Caltrans.
   Rancho Cucamonga-based McLoughlin Engineering Co. is overseeing the
$134 million project.
   The other part of the 60 Swarm comprises bridge replacements, managed
by Riverside-based Sema Construction Inc.
   According to Caltrans, the Benson Avenue, Monte Vista Avenue and
Pipeline Avenue overcrossings in Chino are all due to be razed and replaced
with new spans.
   Officials said the current bridges were constructed with dimensions
that make them prone to being bumped by oversized truck loads. Over the years,
the repeated minor hits have had a cumulative impact, requiring the two-lane
bridges to be replaced.
   Alternating east- and westbound closures of the 60 at the site of each
bridge are also planned, but officials were not specific about the timing.
   The $23 million bridge replacement projects are slated to wrap up in
the fall of 2021.
   More information is available at the 60 Swarm hotline: 833-607-9276.