Community Corner

Work Begins on Los Alamos Road Bridge at I-15

Some nighttime closures of Interstate 15 as well as Los Alamos Road will be necessary as work progresses on the Murrieta bridge.

Construction of a new freeway bridge for Los Alamos Road over Interstate 15 is in full swing.

As work began this month on the $6.35 million project, motorists may have noticed the placement of concrete barriers on the overcrossing.

“Essentially we are working behind that,” said Project Engineer Amr Abuelhassan of Southstar Engineering, who is working onsite out of a mobile office.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The project—which does not include on- and offramps—will widen Los Alamos Road from one lane to two lanes in each direction and will provide additional bridge clearance over Interstate 15. This widening will match the number of lanes on the east and west sides of I-15 on Los Alamos Road, while maintaining traffic on Los Alamos Road utilizing the existing structure.

Occasional nightly closures of Los Alamos Road may take place during construction between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., such as one that occurred late Monday into Tuesday morning.

Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This was in order for crews to perform striping, Abuelhassan told Patch Tuesday.

Beam installation will require full closure of Interstate 15 at the bridge at some point, he said.

“Closures of Los Alamos Road and/or the freeway will be intermittent and exact dates are not known at this time,” Abuelhassan said. “However, for full directional closures of the freeway, we are to provide a two-week notice to Caltrans...When closures are required, proper detours are put in place to divert traffic away from the construction area.  Normally these closures are done at night when traffic is light.”

The project is expected to take a little more than a year, with an estimated completion date of October 2014.

Per a Murrieta City Council vote, the bridge will remain open for the duration of project with at least one lane of travel in each direction for public safety reasons.

City of Murrieta Engineer/Public Works Director Bob Moehling previously told Patch the outer lanes will be built first, then opened up to traffic as the inner lanes are constructed.

The city is funding the project with Proposition 1B monies, the Riverside County Transportation Commission and freeway developer impact fees.


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