Capital City Freeway to close one direction in Sacramento for 28 hours. Here’s when, why
A stretch of the northbound Capital City Freeway through Sacramento is scheduled to close for 28 hours next weekend for construction, according to the California Department of Transportation.
All three lanes of northbound Capital City Freeway between N Street and Exposition Boulevard — a little more than 2½ miles of the unsigned Highway 51 freeway that carries vehicles between the city’s core and Interstate 80 in Arden Arcade — are scheduled to close beginning 11 p.m. Friday, May 29, and remain shut down until about 3 a.m. Sunday, May 31, according to the state agency’s lane closure reporting system.
Crews will apply a polyester concrete overlay on the deck for the American River Bridge and leave it to cure, according to a Caltrans District 3 news release issued Friday.
Several ramps in the area are also scheduled to close during the work, according to Caltrans’ closure report:
• The northbound off-ramps at H Street and Exposition Boulevard are scheduled to close at about 10 p.m. Friday, May 29.
• Northbound on-ramps from E, J and N streets are expected to close beginning about 11 p.m. Friday, May 29.
Additional overnight lane closures are also planned next week, the system noted.
Two northbound and southbound lanes of Highway 51 between Exposition Boulevard and the railroad tracks east of Sutter’s Landing Regional Park will be closed from 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, to 5 a.m. Thursday, May 28, and again from 9 p.m. Thursday, May 28, to 5 a.m. Friday, May 29. During those closures, traffic in both directions will be reduced to a single lane.
Another overnight closure is planned from 9 p.m. Sunday, May 31, to 5 a.m. Monday, June 1, in the same area.
Caltrans is also scheduled to close one northbound lane between Exposition Boulevard and the railroad tracks from 10 p.m. to midnight Friday, May 29, ahead of the full freeway shutdown.
The work coincides with the final stages of Caltrans’ yearslong $239.5 million project to widen and rehabilitate the Capital City Freeway bridge over the American River. Last year, the projected cost was about $28.5 million less.
The project, which began with foundation work in 2022 and expanded to roadway construction in 2023, includes replacing the deteriorating bridge deck, widening shoulders and adding carpool lanes in both directions. Caltrans has also been building a bike and pedestrian path alongside the northbound span to connect the American River Parkway with Sacramento city trails.
Caltrans previously said the project was expected to wrap up in late 2026.
