Driving speeds have been reduced along U.S. Highway 95 near Winchester as contractors replace signage and guardrail in advance of construction to extend the passing lane by three miles in the canyon.
For the next month, drivers can expect continued work on the shoulders as well as the creation of a trail for equipment to access the rock slope west of the highway.
One lane in each direction will typically be open during the day, with work over the weekends possible throughout the season. Once that work is completed around late April or early May, crews will start rock removal, which will require some evening blasting and periodic closures of the highway. Closures will be scheduled around 6 PM and are expected to last about an hour, after which one lane of the highway may remain closed for cleanup.
Work this season is expected to end by November, with the entire project scheduled for completion in fall 2020.
Construction in 2016 extended the passing lane in the area 1.5 miles, and future work will finish the passing lane between Winchester and Culdesac. (ITD)
