Wet weather delays 3-day closure of Highway 50 in Sacramento area. When will roadwork start?

Wet weather will delay the closure of a busy section of Highway 50, according to the California Department of Transportation.

“Rain and cold temperatures” in the forecast prompted Caltrans to put construction work in West Sacramento on pause, the agency said in a Wednesday news release.

Caltrans had planned to block several lanes of Highway 50 to traffic for 79 hours starting on Friday.

“The work has been rescheduled for the following weekend,” Caltrans said in the release.

The department of transportation advises motorists to plan for extra travel time when navigating the “extended connector closure.”

Where is Highway 50 construction?

The Yolo Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 Pavement Rehabilitation Project seeks to “rehabilitate and repair” the highways in and around West Sacramento to “improve safety and ride quality,” according to Caltrans.

The construction zone on Interstate 80 spans from 1.4 miles east of Mace Boulevard to Pioneer Bridge. Work is also being done on Highway 50, between Interstate 80 to the Jefferson Boulevard overcrossing.

The $280 million project includes $47 million in funding from Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, Caltrans said.

Which freeway lanes will be closed? When?

Crews will shut down all lanes on eastbound Highway 50 from just east of the Yolo Causeway to the Jefferson Boulevard offramp and interchange with Highway 275, Caltrans said.

As of Wednesday, roadwork was slated to begin at 9 p.m. on Friday, March 14, and continue until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, March 18.

Caltrans said the extended road closure “will help to minimize the duration of the work and improve workers’ safety.”

Which detours can I take to avoid construction?

During the closure, Caltrans suggested two potential detours for motorists who need to travel in the area of the closure:

• Use Exit 81 on Enterprise Boulevard

• Continue onto eastbound Interstate 80 and take Exit 83 on Reed Avenue.

Is other roadwork planned?

Caltrans said the Yolo Causeway bicycle path is scheduled to be closed for “repair work.”

Crews will work on the bike path that crosses the causeway, according to Caltrans.

The closure will start at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, and last through 6 a.m. Friday, March 14.

This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 9:54 AM.

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.