Renovation Delays Slow Completion Of Hwy 120 Bridge
Sonora, CA — First it was a few bouts of chilly wet weather but now Caltrans officials say equipment challenges are keeping crews from their final chores along the Highway 120 James E Roberts Bridge by Lake Don Pedro.
According to Caltrans District 10 spokesperson Warren Alford, it was thought that the multi-million-dollar, year-plus long project, which was originally supposed to finish up ahead of Thanksgiving weekend, would be ready for officials to sign off on this Friday, Dec. 15. However, the agency is now pushing the date out to somewhere on or before Dec. 31.
Alford says the reason for the new deadline is some operating issues with the machine that is needed to apply the final polyester pavement layer across the span that have yet to be resolved. Once the equipment is working again it will take a few days — followed by some dry ones with seasonal temperatures — for crews to wrap up. Once this happens, Caltrans will remove the 24/7 auto-controls on both sides of the span that for many months have been creating ten-minute traffic delays and officially restore both lanes for full use by motorists.
