Road construction, closures scheduled this week in Merced County

The California Department of Transportation issued traffic advisories this week because of ramp closures and road construction around Merced County.

The northbound offramp from Highway 99 at the California Highway Patrol’s Chowchilla truck scales will be closed due to drainage work.

The closure will run from 6 a.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Monday.

The work is part of the $76.6 million Highway 99-Plainsburg Road freeway project that began in December 2012. The project will construct a new interchange at Plainsburg Road and convert a four-lane expressway to a six-lane freeway from the Madera County line to Buchanan Hollow Road in Merced County.

Caltrans also has closed the southbound and northbound on- and offramps from Interstate 5 to Highway 140, before the Merced and Stanislaus County line, for paving. The crews began work earlier this week and will continue to work through Friday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists should expect 10-minute delays and take alternate routes whenever possible.

Road construction in the area also will continue this week. Caltrans will have road and bridge work on Highway 99 from 15th Street to G Street in Merced.

The southbound offramp from Highway 99 to eastbound Highway 140 is closed and scheduled to reopen in spring of 2016. The southbound onramp from G Street to Highway 99 continues to be closed and also set to reopen in the spring. The connector ramp from southbound Highway 99 near Main Street to eastbound Highway 140 is also closed and will reopen at the end of this year.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Road construction, closures scheduled this week in Merced County."