Highway 41 will be closed in both directions at the Cholame "Y" for two days this week as part of an ongoing project to widen Highway 46 to four lanes.
According to Caltrans, the highway will be closed from the Highway 41/46 intersection to Highway 33 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Wednesday, May 10 and Thursday, May 11.
Caltrans says this will allow the contractor to install a temporary dirt conveyor bridge over Highway 41 just north of the "Y" interchange.
The temporary bridge will allow road construction crews to move dirt from one side of the highway to the other without having to stop traffic.
Caltrans says the material is generated from the slopes on the east end of the project along the Antelope Grade and transported down to the valley. A total of 1.32 million cubic yards of earthwork is involved in this project. Approximately 600,000 cubic yards of that dirt will be moved to the west side of Highway 41.
The highway closure will result in northbound travelers being detoured to Highway 46 East to Highway 33 north to Highway 41 just south of Kettleman City.
Southbound travelers will be detoured from Highway 41 onto Highway 33 south to Highway 46.
The $148 million project is expected to take about three years to complete.
