Drivers getting on or off the highway at Gilman Street this weekend will face what’s likely to be the final extended detour as work on the project redesigning the hectic and much-hated Eastshore Freeway interchange moves toward the finish line.
Gilman will be closed between Second Street and Fourth Street from 7 p.m. Friday through 11:30 a.m. Sunday. That same stretch was closed multiple times in the last few years.
Motorists, pedestrians and cyclists will be sent to a detour on Cedar Street during the closure, with residents and business owners allowed access by flaggers.
The $75 million redesign of the interchange of Gilman Street and the Interstate 80/580 highway has been in the works for over a decade and includes a new pedestrian bridge, opened last year, two new roundabouts designed to ease traffic chaos, completed in February, and safety improvements where Gilman crosses the railroad tracks.
Crews this weekend will be removing Gilman Street’s old curbs and gutters and replacing them with new ones, among other concrete and repaving work. Next up is planting along the on- and off-ramps and the installation of a metal railing by the Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex to the west of I-80.
Caltrans had aimed to finish work on the interchange project by the end of last year, but winter rains delayed the timeline, Caltrans spokesperson Hector Chinchilla said. The project is expected to conclude later this March, with a groundbreaking event tentatively planned for late April.
Featured photo: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local
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Zac has been an editor at Berkeleyside since April 2021. He has directed coverage of education, events and the environment and oversaw the creation of the Berkeley Wildfire Guide. Before joining Berkeleyside,... More by Zac Farber
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