SACRAMENTO-

The first half of Fix 50’s 2nd phase is ahead of schedule, so the final phase will begin 5 days early.

The Fix 50 project’s Westbound Phase 1, which began on May 27, will finish 5 days early, so crews will be transitioning straight into Westbound Phase 2.

Crews will begin the process overnight on Thursday, June 5. They will move traffic from the outside lanes to the inside 3 lanes that have already received a new concrete deck. The transition will be completed by 10 a.m. Friday morning, thus marking the start of Westbound Phase 2.

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Westbound Phase 2 is still expected to take 15 days to complete. The highway is scheduled to be completely reopened on June 25, and it is now expected to to reopen ahead of schedule because of the early start to the final phase.

It is good news that the project is finishing early, but that also means all of the changes and closures are coming early as well.

Additional ramps will be closed during Phase 2. On Westbound Highway 50, the 16th Street off-ramp will be closed, and you are asked to use the 26th Street off-ramp instead.

The connecter between Highway 50 and Eastbound Business 80 will be closed, and the connector between Highway 99 North and US-50 West will be merged down to one lane.

If you plan to commute through this construction zone, you are highly encouraged to plan out alternate routes, and to prepare for extra traffic.

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If you want to get on westbound Highway 50 from Business 80, you can take Eastbound Highway 50 to the Howe Avenue / Power Inn Road exit. This loop will take you onto Hornet Drive near Sacramento State, where you can then turn onto westbound Highway 50 and continue through the construction zone. Detour signs will be up marking the route. The Fix50 construction team is estimating you will need to prepare for an extra 10 minutes because of the detour.

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“Because of the additional ramp and connector closures, congestion could be worse during Westbiound Phase 2 than in Westbound Phase 1,” said Caltrans District 3 Director, Jody Jones. “Major congestion is expected throughout the region, including on other area highways and surface streets. Motorists are strongly encouraged to use alternate transportation whenever possible.”

Caltrans says Light Rail is the best way to get around the traffic, and recommends you avoid any unnecessary trips to the freeway. For more information on alternate forms of transportation, click here.

There will also be a separate project starting on Friday that will affect westbound Highway 50’s traffic that heads to northbound I-5. The inside lanes of northbound I-5 between L Street and Richards Blvd will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. For more information on this short closure, you can head to SacDECKEDout.com.

For all project updates regarding Fix50, you can head to their website, Fix50.com, or follow the project’s twitter account.

Greg Cotta filed this report.