A detour map issued by the California Department of Transportation for the Sept. 4-19 closure of Highway 395 at Sonora Junction.
Today through Sept. 19, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest’s Bridgeport Ranger District will close Little Walker Road and all accessible developed recreation sites and trails.
This temporary area and road closure coincides with the California Department of Transportation’s Sonora Junction Shoulders Project.
“We recognize this closure is a hardship, but the work that is being done will protect both animals and people,” added Bridgeport District Ranger Aaron Coogan.
During this project, Caltrans is closing Highway 395 between Sonora Junction at California State Route 108 and just south of Burcham Flat Road, while crews install two wildlife crossings underneath the roadway. Construction will be scheduled 24 hours a day during the closure, and no vehicles will be allowed through.
The developed recreation sites included in the closure are Obsidian Campground and Emma Lake, Burt Canyon, and Molybdenite Creek Trailheads.
A detour around the 15-day closure will add 8 miles to the trip. Southbound motorists may turn onto Highway 208 at Holbrook Junction traveling through Wellington and onto Highway 182 to Bridgeport.
Travelers over Sonora Pass will have to turn north through Walker, Coleville and Topaz to Holbrook Junction to get to Bridgeport.
“Drivers should not attempt to drive through the hard closure because large sections of the roadway will be completely missing,” officials said. “Construction crews will be working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until this phase of the project is complete.”
There aren’t any services available over most of the 54-mile detour so the California Department of Transportation urges motorists to fill up in Bridgeport, Walker, Coleville or Topaz. Businesses in all four towns are expected to be open, according to the state
