On 8/6/2014 7:39 PM, David Smith wrote:I don't know what the actual hours of the closures are, but it sounds like it might be continuous, so...
I drive through the mountains a LOT. For what it's worth, my recommended route over the mountains would be getting off the 10 at Orange St., take highway 38 up to Big Bear, over the hill, and down the back on 18 to Lucerne. Taking either 330 or 18 up the hill is unnecessarily slow, because of the length of the curved portion of the roads. I can consistently go from the Orange exit on the 10 to Big Bear in one hour, and from Big Bear down the back side to the ROC launch site in Lucerne in 30 minutes. So, depending on where you are coming from, take that into consideration...
CAVEAT: during the week right now (I don't think this is true on the weekends), there are some MAJOR delays on highway 38, and I think on highway 18 up to Big Bear as well, due to repaving (complete repaving, not just slurry seal) of the road. But for evenings or weekends, you should be okay.
Highway 38 is 50 miles from the Orange exit on the 10 to the turn-off to head down the backside to Lucerne (use Paradise Way when you get to Big Bear for the shortest route, if you're not stopping in Big Bear). It's 25 miles from that point to Lucerne. I would estimate that the drive up the hill from the 10 to Big Bear has just over 10 miles of 'fairly curvy' roads, the rest can be taken at the speed limit (55 on the mountain roads, if you know what I mean...). On the road down to Lucerne, there is about 5-7 miles of 'very curvy' roads, the rest is pretty high speed.
So, figure out what works best for you... If you want to know where the Starbucks or the donut shop is in Big Bear, just ask... <G>
David Erbas-White
Yes, they are planning to create a mess.Alternative routes are limited, basically over the San Bernardino mountains or around through Joshua Tree.The easiest way is to just come up before the closures start... Dave Smith NAR 78668, L2 Amateur Extra, W6DPSOn Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 4:25 PM, Steve Jaben <smark.jaben@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:smark.jaben@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:San Bernardino, CA –A major construction project began earlier this summer on Interstate 15 through the Cajon Pass and the CHP is asking the public’s help to ensure safety for motorists and highway workers. On Friday evening, August 8th, Caltrans will begin construction on I-15 northbound between Highway 138 and Oak Hill Road. Caltrans has scheduled five weekends of 65-hour lane closures in order to improve the interstate. The four lanes of traffic will be reduced to two lanes for approximately one mile in length, consecutively moving uphill each weekend. The California Highway Patrol advises motorists there will be significant traffic delays for northbound traffic during the 65-hour “Cajon Crawl” and encourage motorist to plan ahead, use alternate routes, adjust travel times and/or rideshare. -- David P Smith NAR 78668, L2 Amateur Extra, W6DPS
