A $124 million Interstate 5 project will add part-time truck-only lanes through Redding in an effort to reduce merging conflicts, improve freight movement and better manage traffic during major closures.
The Fix 5 Cascade Gateway project will reserve the left lane for trucks from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Caltrans Project Manager Kelly Timmons said the approach appears to be unique nationwide.
“It had to do with efficiency,” Timmons said. “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and getting them through quicker — that was the purpose of building that lane.”
The project will widen the section of I-5 through Redding to three lanes in each direction.
It is funded through a combination of federal, state and local money.
The truck-only lane is also intended to reduce conflicts between commercial trucks and other drivers entering and exiting the freeway.
Shasta Regional Transportation Agency Executive Director Sean Tiedgen said trucks traveling in the right lane can make it difficult for drivers to merge onto I-5.
“We need to do a little bit more to be able to help reduce those collisions, have a safer corridor for freight and the truckers, especially, and also reduce those conflicts," Tiedgen said.
Caltrans plans several other safety and traffic improvements:
- Improvements to seven bridges, including increased vertical clearances at the SR 273 separation and Twin View Boulevard undercrossing for oversized loads.
- New overhead, guide and warning signs for driver information.
- An adaptive lane management system to direct traffic during fire evacuations, snowstorms and other emergencies.
- Upgraded median barriers and guardrails.
Caltrans also plans to install an electric truck-charging station at the northbound Cottonwood weigh station.
Tiedgen said the additional lane and digital signs will help manage traffic when winter weather closes the northbound freeway.
“We can get essentially a parking lot on Interstate 5 for five, 10, 15 miles,” he said.
Those backups can block on- and off-ramps, making it difficult for emergency responders to reach incidents or navigate around congestion. Tiedgen said the new signs will be able to direct cars and trucks off the highway before they become caught in a lengthy backup.
Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 and be completed in 2029.
