BERKELEY – Caltrans has scheduled to temporarily close three lanes of Interstate 80 at the Gilman interchange in Berkeley in order to install concrete barriers blocking off the shoulder and the far right lane of the road at the interchange and re-stripe the roadway. There will be one closure Thursday night, July 21, and one closure Saturday night, July 22.
The concrete barriers will block the shoulder and the far right lane. This will take the weight off the damaged bridge area and accommodate work repairing damage caused when an oversized truck hit the overcrossing July 20. The three right-hand lanes of I-80 will close at the Gilman interchange for barrier placement at 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, reopening at 5 a.m. the following morning. The three lanes will close again at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 22, reopening at 5 a.m. the next morning.
At 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, July 20, the truck was traveling westbound on Gilman Street and hit the east side of the overcrossing.
After the crash, the far right lane was closed so a detailed inspection could be performed. After the concrete barriers are placed, the far right lane will reopen and five lanes of I-80 at the interchange will be open.
The far right lane and shoulder will remain closed until 5 a.m. Monday morning to accommodate the morning commute.
Gilman Street was also closed after the crash but reopened on Wednesday, May 20 around 9:30 pm.
Caltrans is conducting a major project at the interchange in partnership with the Alameda County Transportation Commission. The project will enhance safety by installing a roundabout, reducing congestion and removing merging and turn conflicts. A pedestrian/bicycle overcrossing is currently under construction at the interchange.
The crash did not damage the structure under construction at the interchange. More information about the project is available at https://www.alamedactc.org/programs-projects/highway-improvement/i80gilman/.
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