Some northbound lanes to close on Highway 101 in Petaluma this Thursday

Caltrans will close northbound lanes on Highway 101 in Petaluma between Lakeville Highway and the Corona Overpass from 10 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14, until 6 a.m., Friday, Jan. 15, to allow work crews to shift northbound traffic onto temporary lanes constructed in the median.

The northbound closures will be staggered during the night to accommodate the traffic shift. One northbound lane will always be open. The temporary lanes are standard width and will not reduce freeway capacity. Southbound traffic will not be affected.

The schedule depends on dry weather and could be delayed by rain.

The traffic shift is part of a project to widen the freeway by adding a carpool lane to northbound and southbound Highway 101, creating a six-lane freeway of three lanes in each direction.

Shifting northbound traffic onto the former median creates room for Caltrans to reconstruct and widen the outside bridge lanes, kicking off Stage 2 of the widening project.

The northbound traffic shift allows Caltrans to demolish and rebuild an elevated freeway section called the Petaluma Overhead. Northbound work is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 with project completion in 2023.

The project is one of 13 projects in the larger Marin/Sonoma Narrows widening project to add a carpool lane in each direction of Highway 101 between State Route 37 in Marin and Corona Road in northern Petaluma.

To visit the project webpage go to http://bit.ly/2RzdQLq.