Local
Highway 37 to close between Vallejo and Sears Point for flood work Oct. 23-26
Caltrans will close a 10.4-mile stretch of Highway 37 in both directions for a weekend while crews raise part of the roadway to reduce flooding risk. Two overnight westbound closures will precede the work, with another weekend closure planned in November.
A 10.4-mile stretch of Highway 37 between Mare Island in Vallejo and Sears Point Raceway will close in both directions from 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, to 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 26, as Caltrans raises sections of the flood-prone roadway ahead of the winter rainy season.
Drivers will be detoured through Napa and Sonoma counties on Highways 29, 12 and 121. Highway 37 between Novato and Sears Point will remain open.
Before the full closure, westbound lanes on the eastern half of the highway will close from 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to 4 a.m. Thursday, and again from 7 p.m. Thursday to 4 a.m. Friday. Caltrans plans to build a temporary median along the section between Mare Island and Sears Point. After those closures, traffic will shift into the eastbound lanes while westbound lanes are closed.
The emergency work is intended to reduce flooding as the state prepares for a potentially wet El Niño winter. Crews will raise portions of the highway by 3 feet; the largest work area is a 1,300-foot stretch where concrete and asphalt will be added to elevate the roadway.
“This is an indication to me of the state-level urgency about El Niño,” said John Goodwin, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Caltrans has also scheduled a second weekend closure from 10 p.m. Nov. 13 to 5 a.m. Nov. 15. Crews will move the temporary median during that work and shift traffic to the westbound lanes.
The short-term flood-control project is separate from a longer-term proposal to convert the highway’s shoulders between Mare Island and Sears Point into a toll lane, with a free lane reserved for carpools. The state has allocated $100 million for Highway 37 improvements, with about two-thirds designated for the toll-road project.