Interstate 5 repair work extended by nine days

Sections of Interstate 5 to be closed until July 24 in California.

The Associated Press

6/20/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A freeway construction project that affects thousands of commuters in the state capital will be extended by at least nine days because of an unexpected complication.

The California Department of Transportation and contractor C.C. Myers say concrete on Interstate 5 is much thicker than they initially thought. Test drilling indicated it was 6 to 11 inches thick, when it actually was 4 feet thick in some spots.

Myers says state records also did not accurately reflect the depth of the concrete base. Crews now are required to pour a thicker base that takes much longer to dry.

Sections of the freeway that are used by more than 200,000 vehicles each day have been closed for 10-day intervals since early June.

The $27 million repair is needed to improve a stretch of I-5 through downtown Sacramento that sits below the level of the Sacramento River and has a faulty drainage system.

The project is scheduled to be finished July 24.