Caltrans to close Highway 12 sections again for paving project. Here’s when and where

Portions of Highway 12 will be closed for the next two weekends as Caltrans continues its repaving project that began in July.

Eastbound Highway 12 will be closed from Merced Road to North Dutton Avenue beginning 8 p.m. Friday. It will be reopened at 5 a.m. Monday. One lane will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. over the weekend, with both lanes shutting down from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.

The same closures will be in effect the following week, Oct. 28-30, for the stretch of Highway 12 from Santa Rosa Avenue to Farmers Lane.

The rain forecast for Sunday, however, could complicate the project.

“Depending on how hard it rains that could interfere with the consistency of the concrete,” said Jeff Weiss, a Caltrans spokesperson.

The optimal time to finish this project is also drawing to a close.

“If you get into the low 50s-40s, it's really not good to pave,” Weiss said.

Paving is best done during warm weather. If temperature is too low, the pavement won’t bind properly and the newly laid asphalt will need to be replaced, according to Caltrans.

Weiss said the quick-drying concrete being used for the project will hopefully make it easier to get the project done over the weekend.

Repaving between Dutton Avenue and Fulton Road should be finished by the end of the month, Weiss said, though it may require a “smaller scale closure” if the agency doesn’t finish.

The Highway 12 repaving project is expected to be completed by January 2024, and the full $21.3 million project will officially wrap in June 2024 — after new guardrails and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps are installed, Weiss said.

In the event of an emergency, Caltrans will have the ability to make a lane available for emergency vehicles to traverse the closure.

Signs will be posted alerting drivers to the detours.

Kathryn Styer Martínez is a reporting intern for the Press Democrat. She can be reached at kathryn.styermartinez@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5337.