I-5 over Grapevine in California needs repairs after wildfire. Here’s where & how long

Caltrans continues its work to alleviate traffic issues along Interstate 5 in and out of Southern California following the Route Fire, which burned more than 5,000 acres and damaged at least two retaining walls supporting the roadway.

“The safety of the motorists and truckers is our primary goal,” Caltrans District 7 Acting District Director Gloria Roberts, said in a statement on Thursday announcing plans to alleviate congestion.

“The Route Fire caused extensive damage to the two retaining walls, and traffic cannot travel on the two right lanes until more permanent repairs are completed.”

So, it may get worse for drivers using California’s primary north-south roadway before its gets better.

The southbound lanes of I-5 are open as of Thursday, but two of the northbound lanes remain closed from Lake Hughes Road to Templin Highway to prevent traffic loads from further stressing the damaged retaining walls.

Those two northbound lanes may be closed until mid-November.

In its statement, Caltrans said it is beginning work to open an additional northbound lane from Los Angeles to alleviate traffic. That work will happened overnights starting Thursday and should be completed Sept. 15.

Northbound I-5 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday and Friday and from midnight to 10 a.m. Sept. 11 to Sept 14.

While the lanes are closed, the turnaround gate at Parker Road will be opened to return motorists to southbound I-5. The two left lanes of southbound I-5 will be used to allow trucks with the radius to turn, so southbound traffic will also see delays.

Motorists driving during this time should use alternative routes: State Route 14 just north of Sylmar on I-5, State Route 126/Newhall Ranch Road from I-5 to US 101 or US 101 from downtown Los Angeles, Caltrans said.

Route Fire damage is severe

The retaining walls damaged by the fire — nearly a combined 2,000 feet — were severely compromised, Caltrans said. Some of the vertical steel columns were warped, wall tiebacks were broken and the horizontal anchors into the dirt may have been damaged. Cracks in the asphalt, where it meets the concrete shoulder, are two inches wide and much of the wood has fallen off the wall while the remaining boards were burned.

Analyzing steel samples and concrete will determine permanent solutions, Caltrans said. That could take nearly two months.

Motorists should continue to expect delays and reconsider trips or use alternate state routes as much as possible. That’s SR-126 to US-101, or SR-14 to SR138 or SR-58.

Real-time travel information can be found at Caltrans QuickMap online or by calling the Highway Information Service at 800-427-7623.