Caltrans to begin work on Providencia Avenue bridge near I-5
Supports for a bridge under construction at Providencia Avenue and Flower Street along the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway in Burbank are shown on Friday, Sept. 9, 2016.
Burbank commuters will soon see more detours near the Golden State (5) Freeway around the Providencia Avenue bridge as the California Department of Transportation begins work on the structure starting Monday.
Continuing the state’s ongoing project to improve the heavily used route, crews will be putting up and bolting 110-foot-tall girders to the Providencia bridge as part of an effort to widen the freeway and make way for a carpool lane, according to Caltrans.
Crews will work from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday through Friday. During those times, up to three lanes on the 5 Freeway between Burbank Boulevard and Western Avenue will be closed on both northbound and southbound lanes, but not all three lanes will be closed in both directions at the same time, said Kelly Markham, a Caltrans spokeswoman.
Caltrans may also have to close the southbound Verdugo Avenue on-ramp, southbound Alameda Avenue off-ramp and northbound Alameda on-ramp, according to Caltrans.
Additionally, from Sept. 19 to 30, crews will close Flower Street between Verdugo and Alameda during nighttime construction hours during the week. Providencia between Flower and Varney Street will also be closed when Flower is shut down.
While crews work on the bridge, motorists are being routed to take Lake Street or Victory Boulevard instead of Flower Avenue.
Caltrans is continuing its interchange project at Empire Avenue to realign San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank.
Just north of the work being done on the 5 Freeway at the Providencia bridge, Caltrans is continuing to push forward with its interchange project at Empire Avenue.
Caltrans has been working since May 2014 to realign San Fernando Boulevard to connect directly to Empire via a new underpass, as part of the state’s $355-million project to improve the freeway between Magnolia Avenue and Buena Vista Street.
Currently, crews are working on constructing the Victory Place bridge and pedestrian overcrossing near the Empire Center. Additionally, they are doing grade separation at the train tracks on Buena Vista, Markham said.
“That’s a huge deal because that means that trains are going to be traveling over the top of traffic instead of cars going over the tracks,” she said. “It’s a huge safety enhancement.”
The Empire interchange and undercrossing are expected to be completed around mid-2018, with the southbound ramps expected to open around late 2017.
“We are on track and on schedule,” Markham said. “Thing are rolling along at a good clip, and we expect to complete the project on time.”
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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
