A big culvert will allow wildlife to pass under Highway 395 near Sonora Junction.
One of the last major projects on Highway 395 wrapped up on Friday after the California Department of Transportation reopened the highway south of Walker.
The highway was closed for more than two weeks while crews installed two wildlife crossings as part of the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project.
The highway shut down on Sept. 4, allowing crews to completely dig up the road for each archway under crossing measuring more than 70 feet in length and standing between 9.5 feet and 11 feet tall.
“The full closure was necessary to allow for the wildlife crossing installations, and to replace the asphalt concrete and roadway base of Highway 395 through the project area as well as shift the centerline of the roadway by up to two feet in certain locations to accommodate the wider 8-foot shoulders,” according to CalTrans. “This allowed Papich Construction to quickly and safely remove the asphalt and roadway base to install the under crossings while changing the layout of the road.”
Though crews will finish paving and striping through the project area this year, the project is anticipated to enter a winter suspension in October. Once work resumes in spring 2025, crews will complete permanent striping of the pavement, erect the wildlife fencing, replace signs, and upgrade guardrail.
The Nevada Department of Transportation continues to work between Jollie Way and the Nevada state line on Highway 395 near Topaz Lake with single lane traffic and a pilot car.
