San Bernardino - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has initiated an emergency project with a $1.9 million Director’s Order to make repairs to State Route 189 (SR 189) near State Route 18 (SR 18) in the San Bernardino Mountains.
On Friday, June 3, a portion of SR 189 near post mile 0.2 eroded on the vertical slope below the route that resulted in the closure of one of two lanes. The route is currently under one way traffic control and remains open to motorists. SR 189 is currently the detour route for a full closure on SR 18 which is under construction with an emergency project for slope repair.
The emergency project contractor is Skanska, which is also overseeing the work on SR 18. The contractor will take over traffic control from Caltrans tonight and repairs will begin tomorrow. The emergency repairs are expected to take up to a month and the work hours will be from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Traffic control will remain in place with one lane open and one lane closed to traffic with automatic flagging. There may be times during the repairs that will require traffic holds or full closures and those periods are expected to be minimal. Caltrans will alert motorists in advance for full closures.
Caltrans is making every effort with the contractor to ensure that there is availability for detour on SR 189 during the closure of SR 18. Motorists are advised to use SR 330 to Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, and Big Bear communities and avoid using SR 189 as a detour. Motorists are advised to use SR 330 to avoid delays.
