Freeway traffic in Sacramento flowing OK during first rush hour of ‘Fix 99’ shutdown

As crews pushed past the midway point of a multi-day project to replace a bridge deck on Highway 99, the Sacramento area’s major freeway closure entered its first big commuter traffic test Monday morning.

Early in rush hour, things look to be going about as smoothly as one could hope.

With both directions of Highway 99 closed between the 47th Avenue exit and the junction with the Capital City Freeway and Highway 50, there didn’t appear as of 8:30 a.m. to be any major incidents or gridlock on any local freeways being used as detour routes, according to the California Highway Patrol and Caltrans.

Westbound Capital City Freeway was moderately congested in midtown near N Street, where traffic is being diverted off before the interchange.

But the freeway advised as the main detour option, Interstate 5, appeared to be flowing smoothly in both directions, on key stretches both north and south of Highway 50, Caltrans live traffic cameras showed. Traffic on Highway 99 south of the closure, in the Elk Grove area, was sparse.

The CHP’s online activity log as of 8:30 a.m. did not list any major collisions or other incidents closing lanes on I-5, Highway 50, the Capital City Freeway or Interstate 80.

Later in the morning, shortly after 10:30 a.m., Caltrans reported a crash on northbound Highway 99 near 47th Avenue, “in the coned area that diverts traffic off” the highway just before the construction zone, the transportation agency said in a tweet. That crash was cleared from the detour lanes shortly after 11 a.m., Caltrans said.

The situation on surface streets is harder to assess, but law enforcement agencies in Sacramento and Elk Grove haven’t reported any major crashes as freeway traffic spills onto city streets.

Caltrans and other transportation authorities have been warning for weeks about the “Fix 99” closure, which started at 8 p.m. Friday and will run continuously through its planned 4 a.m. Wednesday conclusion, encouraging commuters to know their alternate routes in advance and leave plenty of time to get to work. Sacramento Regional Transit is also offering free light rail service during the shutdown.

But it appears that a traffic catastrophe may have been averted, at least during the first peak traffic hours of the Fix 99 shutdown, which one Caltrans spokesperson predicted might be the biggest local closure ever in terms of impact and delays.

Smooth traffic flow may be in part due to solid preparation and drivers taking heed of the warnings, which popped up on road signs around town weeks ahead of time.

It’s also possible many drivers simply stayed home. Though most virus-related restrictions and closures will be lifted in California on Tuesday, the COVID-19 pandemic expanded remote work options for countless workers since first shuttering the economy in March 2020.

Sacramento-area roadways will be tested again Monday evening, as well as during Tuesday morning and evening commute times.

Crews during the current closure are replacing the bridge over 21st Avenue on Highway 99, part of the larger Fix 99 project.