A stretch of the San Diego (405) Freeway in Orange County will be closed over the weekend for a bridge reconstruction project and officials were urging motorists to avoid the area.
The stretch that will be closed will be where the 405, San Gabriel River (605) and Garden Grove (22) freeways converge in Westminster.
The closure will start Saturday night at 9 and end Sunday at 5 p.m.
There is a bridge that helps the traffic flow, but for it to be completed the old concrete bridge must be torn down, said Darrell Johnson, of the Orange County Transportation Authority.
The new bridge allows for a smoother transition from the 405 to the 22.
Part of the weekend detour will go through Don Nichols’ Rossmoor neighborhood, where he says drivers already seem frustrated.
“The road is very busy,” he said. “It’s already gone up 25 miles an hour. They come buzzing through there at night, too.”
Employees at the old ranch practice facility, say construction to the north is driving away business.
“They don’t want to wait on the bridge so they say, ‘See you next year,’ or they come at different hours,” said Steve Baker, the manager.
The folks at Blue Mountain Bagels are also on the detour route, which they predict could increase business.
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“With this it will bring more traffic,” said Yelena Chavez, the manager. “Maybe more people stop for a bagel and coffee or just coffee.”
The project is part of a six-mile, $270 million road improvement that should be finished in 2015.
During the closure, northbound San Diego Freeway motorists were advised to take the following detours:
exit Beach Boulevard and turn right; take the westbound Garden Grove Freeway on-ramp to reconnect with northbound San Diego Freeway;
exit Westminster Avenue (east) and turn left, turn right on Bolsa Chica Road and take the westbound Garden Grove Freeway on-ramp to reconnect with the northbound San Diego Freeway; or
exit Valley View Street and turn left on Garden Grove Boulevard, turn right on Valley View Street and take the westbound Garden Grove Freeway on- ramp to reconnect with northbound San Diego Freeway.
View "Bridge Bash" construction project in a larger map
Southbound San Diego Freeway motorists have the following detours:
- exit Studebaker Road and turn right, turn left on East Second Street/Westminster Avenue, continue on Westminster Avenue to access southbound San Diego Freeway;
- Merge onto northbound San Gabriel River Freeway, exit Katella Avenue and turn right, turn right on Valley View Street to access southbound San Diego Freeway.
Southbound motorists on the San Gabriel River Freeway should use the following detour:
- exit Willow Street and turn right, turn left on Studebaker Road, turn left on east Second Street/Westminster Avenue, continue on Westminster Avenue to access southbound San Diego Freeway.
- Motorists on Seventh Street and eastbound Garden Grove Freeway should merge on northbound San Gabriel River Freeway, exit Katella Avenue and turn right, turn right on Valley View Street to access southbound San Diego Freeway.
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