Traffic Keeps Flowing Despite Road Closure

While a dozen workers tore into the pavement at a railroad crossing on Gonzales Road, drivers along the busy roadway were greeted by closure signs east of Oxnard Boulevard in both directions Tuesday.

Despite the closure, which began at 7 a.m. Tuesday and is set to continue until Friday afternoon, traffic flowed well through most of the adjoining streets, officials said.

“The one backup was on St. Mary’s Drive onto Vineyard,” said Joe Genovese, an Oxnard traffic engineer who toured the area during rush-hour. “Vineyard was also a little busier than normal at the onramp to the freeway. Other than that, things were moving pretty smoothly.”

The closure affected Gonzales Road both eastbound and westbound between Rose Avenue and Oxnard Boulevard. Genovese said drivers could take Vineyard Avenue and the Ventura Freeway as an alternate route to the north and 3rd or 5th streets to the south.

During the closure, crews from the city’s Public Works Department will continue work on widening of both Gonzales Road and Oxnard Boulevard. Meanwhile, crews from Southern Pacific Railroad are upgrading the railroad crossing east of the intersection from rubber to concrete.

Gonzales Road is being widened from three westbound lanes to six at the intersection, while Oxnard Boulevard will gain one northbound lane.

Genovese said the widening of both roads will greatly improve the area’s traffic during rush-hour.

“Before the work, it was common to have to wait for two signal cycles to go through the intersection,” he said. “When we are done, it will be very uncommon to have to wait for more than one cycle.”

The additional lanes also will make the intersection safer, Genovese said. There were about 90 accidents at the crossing in the last three years, he added.

While Gonzales is scheduled to reopen late Friday, the $450,000 widening project will not be finished until the end of the month, Genovese said.