Milelong stretch of the 15 Freeway to be closed in Corona on Saturday night

Both sides of the 15 Freeway on the south end of Corona will be completely closed to traffic Saturday night through midmorning Sunday to facilitate work on an interchange improvement project.

All lanes in both directions will be shut down between El Cerrito and Weirick roads beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, the Corona Department of Public Works announced.

The 1.5-mile closure will continue until 9 a.m. Sunday and is necessary to demolish the old Cajalco Road bridge, officials said.

Temescal Canyon Road, which parallels the freeway through the construction zone, will be available as a detour. But because the corridor will provide the only means of accessing multiple shopping centers, traffic is expected to be exceptionally heavy.

In addition to the freeway, crews will be closing the Cajalco Road overcrossing until 10 a.m. Sunday, officials said.

The $45-million Cajalco Road Interchange Improvement Project entails replacing the existing two-lane bridge with a six-lane span, along with expanded shoulders and sidewalk space.

The work on the project began last summer and is nearing completion.