Interstate 80 Across The Top Project Begins Without Fanfare Of Fix 50 Project

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As construction begins on the latest phase of a highway project that's reduced lanes on a heavily traveled road, motorists are wondering why there was little said in advance.

The work on Interstate 80 affects a stretch between the Sacramento River and Watt Avenue and started on Saturday.

The $133 million Across the Top project is meant to address the bumpy and uneven surface on Interstate 80, as well as adding bus and carpool lanes.

The project itself isn't new, it's something that Caltrans has been working on for a couple of years now. But work that began on Saturday has closed two lanes, and limited the outermost lane for local traffic.

Some motorists were surprised by the changes, as there wasn't the same concerted effort to get the word out as the Fix 50 project had.

Caltrans spokesman Dennis Keaton says that's because Fix 50 affected multiple freeways with rotating closures on a central stretch of road.

Unlike Fix 50, the Across the Top project won't be just two months.

"We're talking about another two years to finish the paving, finish the sound wall construction," he said.

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