Unless you’ve been too busy reading old posts on The Sac Rag, you know that northbound I-5 has been closed for the past nine days to repair drainage issues and to repave.
Caltrans, CC Myers, and a host of subcontractors worked around the clock to meet their initial deadline of 5am today.
Not enough credit is given to Caltrans for projects like this. While Myers is the main man, a lot of the brains and guts behind projects like these goes to Caltrans Director Will Kempton — a take-no-prisoners transportation expert who has laid down the law within an organization that has long been the butt of countless jokes. Kempton is more than the figurehead of the agency (as some would argue that previous directors have been), as he has the experience and clout to make things happen.
Credit, surprisingly, should also go to lawmakers who have allowed public-private partnerships to be able to expedite significant projects like this one.
It was downright impressive seeing hundreds of people and pieces of equipment moving all at once, 24 hours a day. Parts of the project were adjacent to regular traffic, so there were plenty of men and women toiling away with just a cone between them and distracted drivers.
Wondering what’s next? Check it out. (Now with the correct link. Thanks, T Mc!)
The Sac Rag 
Your link at the bottom goes to http://www.bigfix.com, which redirects to the Warner Bros. site. I think you mean to link to http://www.fixi-5.com. Also, motorists without Internet access can call 511 from their cellphone for updates on the project.
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OOPS! You’re right.
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P.S. A project with this level of visibility will, hopefully, encourage some of the younger set to consider engineering or construction as a future career. It’s an exciting industry, and there aren’t many jobs where you see such tangible and long-lasting results of your work.
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Good job on Phase 1. Sigalert gets a GIANT THUMBS DOWN for failing to note the closure at all- traffic was NOT moving along at 65 mph on downtown I-5 all last week, as their site claimed.
Would it be too much to ask that the trucks loaded with broken concrete chunks put a tarp over their loads before they get back on the other freeways and share their debis with the rest of us? And maybe one more run with the street sweeper (or a guy with a leaf blower?) before opening a road/lane after work.
Other industries with tangible and long lasting results: Arsonist/explosives expert, logger, strip miner. Follow your heart kids!
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I smell a Sacbee Sunday nomination for this piece…
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Engineering and construction are great jobs! Recent salary surveys show that first year grads from Construction Management and Civil Engineering programs earned $55k-$70k as their starting salary. Sac State has great local programs, too. http://www.csus.edu/cm and http://www.ecs.csus.edu/ce for more info.
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Caltrans has a cool time lapse of the work.
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uhh like the post! you are obviously politically astute (or you at least read the right articles!) will kempton is the man
recently came across sac rag (dont know how it took so long) LOVE!
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oh and holler to the public-private partnership shout out
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nycaboo: I’ve been in the biz for almost 15 years, both in the public and private sectors, as well as on both the transportation planning and project delivery end. I know a good Caltrans director when I see one! 🙂 Kempton epitomizes what a gubernatorial appointee in that type of position should be.
SLOW FOR THE CONE ZONE
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Applause for those workers out there in this heat.
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