Highway 37 in North Bay reopens 7-hours earlier than expected, Caltrans says
VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- A portion of Highway 37 that was closed due to SMART train track repairs is now open, Caltrans says.
Caltrans says lanes opened at 4 a.m. ahead of schedule. They were originally expected to reopen around midday.
On Saturday, it was busy weekend in the area at Wine Country, where the major roadway closure caused some frustration and confusion.
Portions of Highway 37 were closed in both directions in the North Bay for the construction project.
The closure stretched from Sears Point near Highway 121 to Highway 29 in Vallejo. A lengthy detour was in place.
This weekend, a trip to Wine Country left many people stuck behind the wheel. Gloria Marquette from Oakland was not having it.
"Our plan was to go to Six Flags today but unfortunately, it's not going to happen because it's going to take us two hours to get to Vallejo," Marquette said.
Saturday traffic quickly went from bad to worse due to the 11-mile closure between Sonoma and Solano Counties. The closure was necessary to allow the repair of SMART train tracks across the roadway.
A detour rerouted drivers the long way around, using Highways 29, 12 and 121.
VIDEO: 'Gridlock' weekend closure planned for Highway 37 in North Bay has travelers altering plans
Road signs have been warning drivers about the closure.
Sean Luis said his drive from Livermore to the Sonoma Raceway, took twice as long: about two hours.
"It wasn't great. I wish they had the signs up sooner, like 780 From Livermore," said Luis.
"Traffic was going on for miles and miles, we were like how much longer is it going on for," said Erica Lottes.
MORE:New toll could be coming to State Route 37, angering some North Bay commuters
Lottes and her friends from Chicago had reservations for a tasting at Viansa Winery. Owners say it's a busy weekend, with a wedding and a private party.
"So we were able to contact those guests ahead of time and let them know about traffic, it worked well. People were still delayed. It's been OK," said Viansa owner, Chris Sebastiani.
We're going to stay here and not go anywhere else because we don't want to get back into traffic, nothing's worse than that," said Lottes.
Caltrans says about 47,000 cars travel on Highway 37 each day.
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