Today’s Pickup: Carmageddon returns as California begins road closures for work along SR-60 between Ontario and Riverside

• Full closure of eastbound SR 60, including all eastbound on and off ramps, between I-15 and the 60/91/215 Junction in Riverside for eight weekends from Friday nights at 10 p.m. to Monday mornings at 5 a.m. from July 26 through September 23 (excluding Labor Day weekend). There will be no eastbound access during this closure. Motorists may use the westbound SR 60 to access local on and off ramps.

• Full closure of westbound SR 60, including all westbound on and off ramps, between the 60/91/215 Junction in Riverside to I-15 for seven weekends from Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. to Monday mornings at 5 a.m. from September 28 through November 18 (excluding Veteran’s Day). There will be no westbound access during this closure. Motorists may use the eastbound SR 60 to access local on and off ramps.

CALTRANS is advising motorists to find alternate routes, when possible, such as using as I-10, I-15, SR-210 and SR-91 to avoid the closure and delays. Access to local areas and businesses will be available by accessing on and off ramps from the opposite direction of the closure.

The project began on July 22, 2019. The state has set up a 60 SWARM hotline for more information at 1-833-607-9276.

Did you know?

Amazon has 407 facilities in the U.S. with 59 additional projects planned.

Quotable:

“ATA welcomes today’s opinion letter from DOL Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton that concluded time spent by a commercial driver in the sleeper berth does not count as compensable hours under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the driver is actually performing work or on call. This opinion, which is consistent with decades-old DOL regulations, the weight of judicial authority, and the long understanding of the trucking industry, clears up confusion created by two recent court decisions that called the compensability of sleeper berth time into question.”

–  American Trucking Associations, on a Department of Labor letter Monday that said a driver was not considered working while in the sleeper berth, and therefore did not need to be compensated for this time.

In other news:

Trucker helps veterans bring history to Maine

When a Lewiston, Maine, veterans group wanted to bring a Corsair fighter jet to their town, it was a local trucker who came to their rescue. (WGME)

GAO tells Congress it should improve infrastructure grant process

The Government Accountability Office is calling on Congress to improve the process, including for more transparency, in the infrastructure grant process. (Transport Topics)

NASA official touts Wichita as center of urban air mobility movement

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told an audience celebrating the Apollo 11 moon landing that Wichita, Kansas, could be the “Detroit of urban air mobility.” (The Sunflower)

Electric power

Ford has released a video of the new F-150 all-electric pickup towing over 1 million pounds of train cars loaded with 42 F-150 trucks. (Autoblog)

Marine operator to leave space

Freight Management, which counts marine transport businesses among its holdings, said it will sell its holdings and leave the space, which is losing money. (The Edge Markets)

Final Thoughts

Ontario, California, is one of the most heavily truck-traveled areas in the country as it serves as a prime warehouse area for freight moving into and out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. For the next several months, freight companies will need to pay attention to their routing as the state’s Department of Transportation has begun a massive $134 million road project that will include replacing pavement and bridges along State Route 60 between Ontario and Riverside. Road closures will take place in the evening, after 10:00 p.m., and on weekends, but some in the state are saying the traffic disruption could be worse than the infamous 2011 Carmageddon in the state when I-405 was closed for 55 hours. Fleet traffic managers and drivers need to be aware because even if they are not traveling SR-60, ancillary roads in the area will be filled with more traffic than normal.

Hammer down everyone!