Officials warn Monday commuters to avoid the 710 freeway

Officials warned commuters to avoid the 710 freeway in both directions between the 5 and 105 freeways Monday, as unexpected problems in construction work are forcing a continued closure of four lanes of the Long Beach Freeway.

Instead of five southbound lanes and four northbound lanes flowing through the cities of South Gate, Cudahy and Bell, the 710 will be reduced to only two northbound lanes and three southbound lanes during the Monday commute, said Officer Anthony Martin with the California Highway Patrol. 

The pavement laid down by work crews was not thickening fast enough to permit an on-time opening of the Long Beach Freeway, Caltrans spokeswoman Maria Raptis told City News Service.

The partial freeway closure is expected to continue until Tuesday at 5 a.m., the CHP said.

Caltrans has been repaving the Long Beach Freeway for years, and is supposed to finish weekend construction work in time to open up the freeway for the Monday morning commute. 

The 710 is a major artery for trucks coming to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

Possible detours for commuters include driving up the 110 or 605 freeways. 

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--Rong-Gong Lin II 

 

Photo: A map of the construction area. Credit: California Department of Transportation