UPDATE, FRAZIER PARK, CA (Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011 at 1:30 p.m.)–Residents have reported to The Mountain Enterprise that delays along Frazier Mountain Park Road, between Lebec and Frazier Park, are taking 15 to 20 minutes, due to road repairs.

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Road repair projects on the Grapevine and Frazier Mountain Park Road will require Mountain Community commuters to plan ahead and allocate extra time for delays in October and November.

Southbound Grapevine

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is working on a 1.5 mile southbound strip of Interstate 5 near Grapevine Creek Bridge in Lebec. The truck lane and right shoulder will be closed, reducing traffic to three lanes in the Fort Tejon-Lebec area, congesting commuter traffic. Traffic is further reduced to two lanes from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. overnight, Monday-Thursday.

“Commuters will experience delays…,” a Caltrans commuter alert says. Longterm lane closures “are necessary 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during this phase of the construction project which is expected to be completed by the end of November,” Caltrans announced.

Frazier Mountain Park Road

On October 3, the Kern County Roads Department will begin a "chip seal project" along Frazier Mountain Park Road and Cuddy Valley Road from I-5 to the Mil Potrero Y.

Kern County Engineering Manager Todd Wood said in an email to The Mountain Enterprise that one-way traffic control with a pilot vehicle and traffic delays are expected to be kept to a minimum. Wood believes the project can be completed in three to five days.

"The Lebec maintenance crew has been preparing the road this summer…. The chip seal project will complete our pavement preservation work on Frazier Mountain Park Road and Cuddy Valley Road. A thin film of hot liquid asphalt will be applied to travel lanes and a layer of 3/8 inch aggregate chips added to the asphalt binder. The roadway and shoulders will be fog sealed and re-striped," Wood said.

Motorists are advised to drive slowly when approaching and while passing through road construction areas.

—Reported by P. Hedlund and G. Meyer

This is part of the September 30, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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