The 210 reopens after five days

Another closure for freeway upgrade in Irwindale will take place in August.

The 210 Freeway in the San Gabriel Valley reopened early Tuesday after transportation officials cut the freeway in half over the last five days in Irwindale for bridge renovations.

Starting late last week, motorists endured traffic log jams as repair crews shut down westbound lanes of the 210 from Irwindale Avenue to the 605 Freeway, about a six-mile stretch.

The state Department of Transportation is in the middle of a $30-million project to replace older hinges, railings and storm drains on the portion of the freeway that hangs over the San Gabriel River as a bridge, Caltrans said.

The old hinges, which hold sections of the bridge together, are at least 50 years old, dating to the freeway’s construction, said Eric Menjivar, a spokesperson with Caltrans.

Over the last five days, work crews installed new hinges, which are a foot taller and 90 feet long and were designed to provide more flexibility to the bridge for resilience against earthquakes and pressure from everyday vehicle traffic, Menjivar said.

Other updates include raising the height of the bridge railings as well as the center median, which is intended to improve visibility for drivers at night, Menjivar said. A higher median will block headlights from oncoming vehicles on the opposite side of the freeway.

Caltrans is undertaking similar median-raising projects in other portions of the 210, near the 5 Freeway, and along the 101 Freeway from Hollywood to Calabasas.

A second closure will take place Aug. 17-23 along the same stretch of the eastbound 210 to finish updates on the second half of the bridge, Caltrans said.

Closures are subject to change, and residents should check the Caltrans QuickMap for the most recent information.