Posted on January 12, 2018 at 11:14 am by Meghan Revolinsky
By: Angela Obeso
Rain last week caused delays in some of the Caltrans bridge demolition work at the Willow Road-U.S. 101 interchange and some activities are now scheduled for the coming week.
Caltrans crews are currently demolishing the outside portions of the existing Willow Road bridge, including removing large beams from the underside of the bridge and removing concrete. The nature of these activities require closure of freeway lanes for safety of the traveling public, so some of this work will be done overnight when traffic volumes are lowest. This work began in mid-December and continues through mid to late January. Periodic lane closures on the freeway and on Willow Road are expected during the nighttime hours. Also, the following full freeway closures are planned, pending weather conditions:
- In the northbound direction Tuesday, Jan. 16, from midnight until 5 a.m., and
- In the southbound direction Wednesday, Jan. 17, from midnight until 5 a.m.
Detour routes will be in place during the full closures. Noise impacts may be experienced in the adjacent neighborhoods during these times.
Crews are also working on the foundations for the new sound walls. The installation of these foundations requires driving piles that will have noise and vibration impacts for the next few months and will be done during daytime hours. Local residents close to the sound walls have or will receive a notice from Caltrans with more information on dates and times. The notices that have already been distributed to the Belle Haven and Willows neighborhoods are posted on the City’s project webpage. The new sound walls are anticipated to be complete in April 2018 and then the overall noise level from the project and the freeway should be much less in the neighborhoods.
The Caltrans construction teams are working to keep nighttime work below certain sound levels. If you have any concerns, questions or comments, please contact Jeff Weiss, Public Information Officer, at Caltrans at (510) 286-5543 or jeffrey.weiss@dot.ca.gov or the City’s Transportation Division at transportation@menlopark.org or 650-330-6770.
Keep posted with the City’s project webpage and Construction News Updates.
