Work to improve Foothill (210) Freeway surface expected to be completed spring 2018

A three-year effort to make surface improvements on the Foothill (210) Freeway is already underway and will cause periodic ramp and lane closures, a engineer for the California Department of Transportation told the La Cañada Flintridge City Council Monday.

Reza Fateh, the Caltrans engineer overseeing the $148.5 million project, discussed how workers plan to replace and grind surface lanes across a 9.7-mile stretch of freeway leading from Dunsmore Avenue in La Crescenta to Pasadena’s Los Robles Avenue.

Awarded to Santa Fe Springs contractor Flatiron West, Inc., the project is expected to be completed by March 2018. But, Fateh said, if everything continues on a fast pace, work could wrap up as soon as October 2017. Construction will take place during the day and at night, and will include occasional ramp closures and the temporary switch-over of eastbound and westbound lanes.

The work will be completed in four phases, the engineer explained. The first phase, which will involve replacement of the freeway median barriers and guardrails, began in April and will last from six to 10 months.

Phases two and three will require the temporary closure of lanes in 1 1/2-mile stretches, as lanes are resurfaced with thicker pavement that have an expected lifespan of about 40 years, Fateh said. During that time, one eastbound lane just east of the Glendale (2) Freeway connection will be closed and speed limits will be reduced to 55 miles per hour.

Some ramp closures are also expected to occur during construction.

“There will be intermittent closures. (But) no two consecutive ramps will be simultaneously closed,” Fateh assured the council.

In addition to replacing medians and lane surfaces, Caltrans will be installing LED lighting and placing a high-friction surface in the tunnel near the interchange between the Foothill Freeway and the 134 Freeway. The replacement of freeway signs and striping throughout the corridor will be done during the project’s fourth phase.

Fateh told the council that Caltrans has reached out to the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, whose five-year plan to clear sediment from Devil’s Gate Dam by way of hauler trucks on the 210 Freeway will likely run up against lane closures and road crews.

“We did contact them and have been in coordination with them,” he said.

Once the first phase of the work is complete Caltrans plans to remove a batch plant tower, currently located at the Foothill and Glendale freeway interchange. The tall metal structure, which is used to mix concrete for road crews, will be relocated to the 710 Freeway terminus in Pasadena, Fateh said.

Councilman Mike Davitt urged Caltrans to remove the tower, which he said was hazardous to vehicles trying to merge onto the Glendale Freeway.

“I would implore you to work on something,” Davitt said. “It’s a dangerous situation as trucks are trying to merge.”