Rainy Forecast Expected To Impact I-10 Construction: Pass Area

SAN GORGONIO PASS, CA — Rain is expected to temporarily stop road work scheduled Monday evening, which would bring Interstate 10 between Banning and Cabazon down to one lane in each direction and close three ramps in Banning.

"The contractor is going to try to do some work if they can," Caltrans spokeswoman Emily Leinen said late Monday morning, "but because of the rain I don't think that's going to happen."

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

Daytime work this week began Sunday and was continuing Monday between Eighth Street in Banning and Main Street in Cabazon. Crews are scheduled to work on the center median in the eastbound direction throughout the week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., depending on the weather.

If crews are able to resume nighttime work Monday evening, it would bring I- 10 down to one lane in each direction in the same areas between 7 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. During the same hours, crews were planning alternating ramp closures in Banning at 22nd Street, Malki Road and Hargrave Street.

The closures would most likely affect the on-ramps, and last for one to two hours per ramp, Leinen said.

No daytime lane closures are currently planned, she said.

Meteorologists peg the chance of rain Monday evening in Banning at 70 percent, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS estimates Banning will receive between a quarter and a half-inch of rain.

In Cabazon, forecasters said the area could see between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain, and pegged the possibility of rain at 60 percent.

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.

Construction began in February and is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2022. The first phase spans from Eighth Street in Banning to Main Street in Cabazon. The next phase will include roadways between Beaumont and Banning, and lastly, from Cabazon to Highway 111 in Palm Springs.

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

Temporary crossover lanes will be constructed at times, which will include thinner-than-traditional lane widths. The speed limit will also be reduced to 60 miles per hour.

For more information, visit www.i10tuneup.com and sign up for project alerts, or call the construction hotline 833-i10-TUNE.