I-5 overnight closures to return this week

LA JOLLA - Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 will be closed overnight for the next five nights, as wooden bracing for new bridges is removed from over the freeway.

The northbound 5 will be closed from La Jolla Village Drive to Genesee Avenue starting tonight at 10:30 p.m., and will reopen at about 5 a.m. Monday.

Similar closures will extend from 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday nights to 5 a.m. the next morning.

The shutdown is the third five-day closure in three weeks, with one more three-day closure planned to begin Nov. 13.

Detours are possible using either Route 52 or La Jolla Village Drive east to Interstate 805.

Crews have been removing temporary wooden structures supporting a bridge over I-5 at the northern end of Gilman Drive and are reportedly roughly halfway done.

"The overcrossing and related roadway improvements will connect Gilman Drive to the west and Medical Center Drive to the east,'' according to SANDAG. "The project will provide a vital link between the west and east campuses of UCSD and add a second on-campus crossing over I-5.''

The bridge is being constructed as part of the Mid-Coast Trolley Blue Line Extension, with an 11-mile extension of trolley service by the Metropolitan Transit System from Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego to University City.

Construction on the extension, including the new bridge and nine new trolley stations, began in 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in 2021.