I-5 delays west of Bakersfield to last all summer
Summer vacationers heading through the Central Valley have been caught by surprise by a prolonged construction project on Interstate 5 west of Bakersfield.
On Sunday night, northbound traffic in the Buttonwillow area was backed up for eight miles when all but one lane of the roadway was closed south of California 58. Southbound traffic, also down to one lane, was backed up about four miles.
The construction and the delays have been going on about a year, said Robert Rodriguez, a California Highway Patrol spokesman in Bakersfield.
"The locals know about it. And there's message board signs on the Grapevine," Rodriguez said. "But people who don't travel this way a lot, the ones just taking a summer trip, get caught by surprise."
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-- Diana Marcum in Fresno
Image: Approximate location of closure shown in red. Credit: Google Maps
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