I-10 Motorists Get Weekend Traffic Break: Pass Area To Desert

BANNING, CA — No lane closures due to Caltrans road work are planned for Interstate 10 Friday evening between Cabazon and Banning, although they are set to resume next week.

Daytime work continues Friday in the center median between Eighth Street in Banning and Main Street in Cabazon but does not involve any scheduled lane or ramp closures. The work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

But motorists traveling in the area could experience delays restarting again beginning next Wednesday until Friday when two out of the four eastbound lanes are scheduled to close overnight from 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to Caltrans. Crews will be excavating portions of roadway, pouring fresh cement and erecting additional protective barriers for workers.

Work is subject to postponement depending on weather conditions, according to Caltrans.

The work is a part of the I-10 Pavement Rehabilitation Project, dubbed the I-10 Tune-Up, a three-phase, $210 million construction project spanning nearly 20 miles from Pennsylvania Avenue in Beaumont to the Highway 111 interchange in Palm Springs.

Work is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2022.

The I-10 Tune-Up includes the replacement of guardrails, repaving lanes Nos. 3 and 4, replacing slabs in lanes Nos. 1 and 2 and upgrading various on- and off-ramps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The $210 million project is predominately funded by the so-called state "gas tax" and the remainder through federal funds, as well as a sliver of additional state funding, according to Caltrans.

Temporary crossover lanes will be constructed at times to allow for crews to work behind barriers in the middle of the roadway, which will include thinner-than-traditional lane widths. The speed limit will be reduced to 60 miles per hour.