If you are planning to travel through the Cromberg area, Caltrans has a clear message for you: give yourself plenty of extra time.
Crews have transitioned to a 24/7 traffic control schedule on State Route 70. This shifts the massive Cromberg Combined Rehabilitation Project into its final, most disruptive stretch. The one-hundred-and-one-million-dollar project is completely overhauling a twenty-mile stretch of the highway—widening shoulders, improving drainage, and replacing bridge rails.
But for local drivers and residents, the extensive upgrades mean extensive headaches.
Motorists are facing delays of up to twenty-five minutes on unpaved surfaces. Local residents complain that the constant gridlock is tearing up vehicle tires and cutting off easy access between Quincy and Portola. Local businesses are also feeling the pinch, reporting that frustrated tourists are bypassing the area entirely to avoid the bottleneck.
Caltrans District 2 states that night work is being utilized whenever safe to speed up progress. However, relief is still blocks away. The around-the-clock traffic stops are expected to persist through the remainder of the summer, with final project completion not slated until this fall.
