Caltrans is advising motorists who plan on traveling northbound on the I-5 this weekend to avoid the area or expect significant delays due to full freeway, lane, ramp and connector closures. Here’s the full release from Caltrans:

Caltrans is advising northbound Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5) motorists from Orange County heading into Los Angeles County that they could expect delays of 60 to 90-minutes this weekend if they don’t use alternate routes or avoid the area during an extended closure from Valley View Avenue to Carmenita Road that begins Saturday, November 16 at 12:01 a.m. and continues through Monday, Nov. 18 at 5 a.m.  Traffic will be the heaviest throughout the day and night on Saturday.

The extended weekend closure on northbound I-5  includes one on-ramp, one lane, and one freeway connector. Since November 1, Caltrans has displayed closure and alternate route information on various routes leading to the northbound I-5 and the westbound State Route 91 connector.  Electronic Message Signs (EMS) and Portable EMS are in place to redirect northbound I-5 traffic to use State Routes 22, 57, 91 and I-605.

The following closures will be in place this weekend:

Sat., Nov. 16 at 12:01 a.m. to Mon., Nov. 18 at 5 a.m.

CLOSED continuously throughout the weekend:

• one of three lanes on northbound I-5 from Valley View Ave. to Carmenita Rd.;
• the freeway connector transition from westbound State Route 91 to northbound I-5;
• the northbound I-5 on-ramp at Valley View Ave. (closure begins Fri, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.)

Two directional FULL FREEWAY CLOSURES on northbound I-5 ONLY from Valley View Avenue to Carmenita Road, will take place overnight Saturday and Sunday.

Each full freeway closure will last from four to seven hours.

• Overnight, Saturday, Nov. 16: 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m.
•  Overnight, Monday, Nov. 18:  1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

OPEN:  All (3 of 3) southbound I-5 lanes will remain open for motorists throughout the weekend from Carmenita Road to Valley View Avenue.

When the freeway facilities re-open on Monday morning, November 18, the public will notice these new features on the freeway and on local streets:

• three northbound lanes from approximately Valley View Ave. to Alondra Blvd. will have been re-striped and shifted to the right (east).   One of the three lanes will be an entirely new lane as part of the I-5 HOV Widening Project.

• a new temporary northbound I-5 on-ramp at Freeway Drive in Santa Fe Springs will open.  This on-ramp will temporarily replace the northbound I-5 on-ramp at Alondra Blvd. that closed in June, 2013 prior to the demolition of the Alondra Blvd. Bridge.

• a new signalized intersection at Alondra Blvd. and Freeway Dr. in Santa Fe Springs, will be fully operational for local motorists.

• Alondra Blvd. remains closed from Freeway Dr. to Marquardt Ave. during reconstruction of the new Alondra Blvd. Bridge, that is scheduled to reopen in fall 2014.

The on-going construction on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) from the Orange County line to I-605 is part of the $1.6 billion I-5 South Corridor Improvement Projects to widen the freeway by adding one general purpose lane and one High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) or carpool lane, in both directions from the Los Angeles County/Orange County line to I-605. The projects are overseen by Caltrans and funding is administered by Metro.

The construction work during the November 16 -18 weekend is part of the $110 million I-5 HOV Widening and Alondra Boulevard Bridge Project  to construct one carpool lane and one general purpose lane in each direction from North Fork Coyote Creek Bridge to Marquardt Avenue.  The project also includes reconstructing overcrossings at Alondra Boulevard and North Fork Coyote Creek, and realigning and upgrading adjacent frontage roads. The contractor for this project is C. C. Myers, Inc. of Anaheim, CA.

The public is encouraged to sign-up to receive email notifications on freeway lane and ramp closures and local city street closures by calling the I-5 South Corridor Improvement Projects Toll-Free Information line at (855) 454-6335 or by visiting www.I-5info.com

Freeway Traffic Information:  For timely, accurate and accessible real-time freeway traffic information and travel times, visit Caltrans Quick Map http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/  Caltrans Quick Map