Drivers may experience southbound delays in San Juan Capistrano as pile driving work occurs for the next three weeks in an effort to avoid nighttime disruptions
ORANGE – Beginning Monday, construction crews will close two southbound lanes of the San Diego Freeway (I-5) daily in San Juan Capistrano to perform pile driving work, which could continue until Feb. 15.
The southbound lane closures, scheduled from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, may cause freeway delays and motorists are encouraged to leave extra time to reach their destinations or consider alternate routes.
The closures are necessary so workers have room to safely perform the pile driving, which is being done to create a stable foundation for the freeway widening. The pile driving must be completed by Feb. 15, when environmental regulations prevent the work from occurring because of nesting season for birds and bats. Nesting season is between Feb. 16 and Sept. 1.
Pile driving is one of the most disruptive construction activities. Because of the significant noise and vibration caused by pile driving, the work will be done during the day to limit the impact to the residents who live in the nearby community.
The work will occur on the southbound side of I-5 on the slope adjacent to Camino Capistrano, between Stone Hill Drive and Doheny Park Road.
The $230 million project is constructing a carpool lane in each direction on I-5 between Avenida Pico in San Clemente and San Juan Creek Road in San Juan Capistrano, an area that is notorious for weekend traffic jams and weekday rush-hour bottlenecks. The project will help alleviate the backups by providing a continuous number of lanes – four general-purpose and one carpool – in each direction, eliminating the need for vehicles to merge as they must do now when the existing carpool lane ends. The project also will reconstruct the Avenida Pico interchange.
The Measure M project is funded with Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements and a combination of state and federal dollars.
For more information, visit: www.octa.net/I-5Pico
