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Caltrans has canceled the closure of Interstate 680 southbound between Pleasanton and Sunol that was planned for the entire Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend due to the rainstorm forecast for Saturday, a department spokesperson confirmed to the Weekly on Wednesday.
Janis Mara, spokesperson for Caltrans District 4, said that more information will roll out in the next few weeks, but the department of transportation is aiming to reschedule the closure next month — possibly for another holiday weekend.
“Right now, it’s a little too early to say, but that is definitely what we’re aiming to do, is to reschedule for Presidents Day,” Mara said.
Originally, Caltrans was going to fully close southbound I-680 from this Friday night to Tuesday morning between the I-580 connector in Pleasanton and Dublin down to Koopman Road in Sunol.
The goal was to help rehabilitate the pavement an entire year ahead of schedule by replacing a portion of the existing deteriorated roadway with new pavement on the stretch of southbound I-680. With the additional day, thanks to the holiday weekend, the department would have been able to accomplish the amount of work overall that would have otherwise required nearly two months worth of nightly closures.
But with the National Weather Service predicting a 70% chance of rain on Saturday, motorists will now have to wait a little longer before experiencing a smoother drive on that patch of the highway. However, Mara said the goal is to still get that amount of work done in a similarly short period of time.
“What the resident engineer explained is that we will keep looking for another holiday weekend … and hence we’ll be able to accomplish the amount of work that otherwise would require an estimated 50 nighttime closures,” she added.
