SAN DIEGO — Six miles of the northbound Interstate 5 freeway will be squeezed into one lane this weekend for the second of two major Caltrans closures to the roadway this month for maintenance.

The closure will start Friday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m., running until Monday, Oct. 2 at 5 a.m. During that time, crews are going to be making repairs to the bridge deck over State Route 163.

Officials are working to get the word out to the public about the closures due to the large impact that it is expected to have on drivers.

A stretch of I-5 from 18th Street in National City to the SR-163 overpass will have limited access throughout the duration of the 56-hour closure. As an alternative, locals are advised to use either the Interstate 805 or the Interstate 15 to beat the delays.

Southbound I-5 lanes will not be impacted by the maintenance work.

A map of this weekend’s closure and alternate routes can be found below:

Map showing the closure to northbound I-5 lanes. (Courtesy of Caltrans)
Map showing the closure to northbound I-5 lanes. (Courtesy of Caltrans)

California Highway Patrol officials will be out enforcing strict traffic compliance near the road workers, scrutinizing drivers in the downtown area as an extra safety measure.

This weekend’s closure comes about two weeks after Caltrans crews shutdown southbound I-5 lanes for the first segment of the repairs to the SR-163 overpass. The work, which began Sept. 8, wrapped up about a day ahead of schedule.

For real-time traffic information including traffic speed, lane and road closures due to construction and maintenance activities, motorists can visit Caltrans’ QuickMap. Drivers can also visit Caltrans on X, formerly known as Twitter, for up-to-date information.

Rain is possible with this weekend’s forecast, but Caltrans says that all lanes will be reopened Monday rain or shine.