Delays on the Highway 20 reconstruction project between Smartsville and the Parks Bar Bridge are going to be much longer on Wednesday. Cal Trans Public Information Officer Gilbert Mohtes-Chan says the highway will be closed, sometime between 11am and 2pm, in order to blast rock embankments. And it will take up to two hours to re-open it…

And Chan says another blasting operation is expected to be conducted on Friday. He says this is the most efficient method…

The work is part of the second phase of a project to straighten curves, and widen lanes and shoulders. It’s expected to take two construction seasons. The first phase was completed last year. And there is still one-way traffic control on two other sections of the highway, west of the bridge up to Marysville Road. Chan says more blasting is planned this summer for the entire project area.