Long Beach Freeway Scheduled for August Closures

Interstate 710, known as the Long Beach Freeway, is the latest major Southern California traffic corridor to experience partial night closures this month due to construction work.

The closures begin or began the night of Aug. 5 and will occur for 10 weekends until Monday morning Oct. 17.

Between now and Oct. 17, the only weekend that the freeway will be completely open is for the Labor Day holiday weekend, Sept. 3 to 5.

According to California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) data, on average about 20,400 trucks a day travel the portion of the freeway between Firestone Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard.

The shutdown of a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 405 on July 16 and 17 was dubbed “Carmageddon” because public officials predicted massive traffic tie-ups.

In the end, though, dire predictions about traffic jams did not materialize as most drivers stayed off the giant freeway system overlaying Los Angeles County. Unlike the I-405 closing, however, the full closure of a section of I-710 will disrupt traffic only at night.

“This is not the 405 closure,” said Patrick Chandler, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation. “This has been done before,” he said.

I-710 has been undergoing a major pavement replacement project for a decade, Chandler said, adding that other sections of the freeway have experienced similar closures.

The road stretches from the Port of Long Beach north though communities such as Lynwood, Downey, South Gate and Bell, as well as part of Los Angeles, before intersecting with Interstate 5, a major north-south freight artery that runs from Mexico to Canada.

For more information about the times for the lane and freeway closings and for maps designating alternate routes, click here to visit Caltrans’ website.