Date: Friday, September 20, 2024
District: 9 – Bishop
Contact: Michael Lingberg
Phone: (760) 920-0280

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 U.S. 395 Fully Reopened through Sonora Junction Shoulders Project

What you need to know: U.S. 395 has reopened within the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project after crews installed two under-highway wildlife crossings, providing safe and sustainable passage for mule deer and other area wildlife.

 MONO COUNTY – U.S. 395 has reopened between Burcham Flat Road and State Route 108 north of Bridgeport after crews installed two wildlife crossings as part of the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project. The highway shut down on September 4, allowing crews to completely dig up the road for each archway under crossing measuring more than 70 feet in length and standing between 9.5 feet and 11 feet tall.

The project began construction in May to widen the shoulders of the highway to 8 feet, install rail-element retaining walls, and stabilize slopes with anchored mesh in addition to installing the wildlife crossings.

The full closure was necessary to allow for the wildlife crossing installations, and to replace the asphalt concrete and roadway base of U.S. 395 through the project area as well as shift the centerline of the roadway by up to two feet in certain locations to accommodate the wider 8-foot shoulders. This allowed Papich Construction to quickly and safely remove the asphalt and roadway base to install the under crossings while changing the layout of the road.

Though crews will finish paving and striping through the project area this year, the project is anticipated to enter a winter suspension in October. Once work resumes in spring 2025, crews will complete permanent striping of the pavement, erect the wildlife fencing, replace signs, and upgrade guardrail.

TRAFFIC IMPACT: Drivers are advised that they no longer need to use the detour along State Route 182 and Nevada Routes 338 and 208 in Smith Valley, NV. U.S. 395 through the project area is once again open to traffic. Travelers can drive between Bridgeport and the towns of Walker, Coleville, and Topaz using U.S. 395 again. Those traveling over Sonora Pass and Monitor Pass are now able to turn south on U.S. 395 instead of using the detour.

Before the project enters winter suspension in October, one-way traffic control will go back into effect Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and drivers may experience 20-minute delays.

Travelers are asked to be attentive to workers on the highway, slow for the cone zone, and move over whenever possible to give additional clearance. Be Safe and Be Work Zone Alert! And remember to #SlowDownInTown.

Follow us for the latest information on Facebook (Caltrans9), X/Twitter (@Caltrans9), and Instagram (@Caltransd9), or email us at [email protected]. To assist in planning your commute, view live traffic conditions using QuickMap at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.

For those with sensory disabilities requiring alternate formats (i.e., Braille, large print, sign language interpreter, etc.) and those needing information in a language other than English, please contact Bob Gossman at 760-881-7145 or TTY 711.


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