Drivers and truckers who use Interstate 5 through Castaic, north of Los Angeles, face a week of overnight lane and ramp closures starting Sunday evening, November 15, after the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced the latest round of work on its long-running pavement rehabilitation project on the Golden State Freeway.
Source: MyNewsLA / Caltrans
The closures affect both directions of I-5 between Hasley Canyon Road and a point one mile south of Vista del Lago Road, in northern Los Angeles County. Castaic sits about 40 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, at the foot of the climb toward Tejon Pass and the Grapevine — the stretch of I-5 that carries traffic between Los Angeles, Bakersfield, the San Joaquin Valley and Northern California.
The overnight schedule
On Sunday night, November 15, up to two lanes in each direction are scheduled to close from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., according to the detailed schedule carried from the MyNewsLA and Korea Daily reports. The ramp closures start earlier on Sunday: the southbound Lake Hughes Road on-ramp closes at 3 p.m., and the other Lake Hughes Road ramps, both Templin Highway ramps and the southbound truck brake inspection off-ramp close at 5 p.m.
Source: Deep Arrival (MyNewsLA and Korea Daily schedule)
From Monday through Thursday nights, November 16 to 19, up to three lanes in each direction are scheduled to close from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. The Lake Hughes Road and Templin Highway on- and off-ramps in both directions, and the southbound truck brake inspection off-ramp, close for the same hours on those nights.
Source: Deep Arrival (MyNewsLA and Korea Daily schedule)
MyNewsLA's summary of the Caltrans announcement says this run of closures begins Sunday evening and ends Thursday morning, while the detailed schedule lists weeknight closures through Thursday night, November 19. Caltrans schedules can also change with weather, so confirm the night you travel on Caltrans QuickMap before setting off.
What the work is
Caltrans is replacing concrete slabs, upgrading guardrails and repaving the freeway through the work zone, MyNewsLA reported. The agency says the work will improve ride quality and worker safety. Residents near the freeway may hear noise and feel vibrations while crews grind the pavement. The pavement rehabilitation project began in spring 2025 and is scheduled to run through winter 2026–27, so this is one round in a much longer program, not a one-off closure.
Source: MyNewsLA / Caltrans
Why it matters for truckers and Central Valley drivers
This stretch of I-5 is the main route between Los Angeles and Bakersfield, the San Joaquin Valley and Northern California. Overnight trucks, night buses and late-night drivers heading over the Grapevine will be squeezed into fewer lanes, and anyone who uses the Lake Hughes Road exit for Castaic Lake, or Templin Highway for back-country roads, will need another way on or off the freeway after the ramps close each evening. That includes the many Punjabi truckers who run the Los Angeles–Central Valley corridor overnight. Neither report lists a signed detour for the closed ramps. Daytime traffic is not affected by these closures, and daytime trips to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, south of the work zone, should not be affected.
Drivers should also watch conditions further north on the same corridor: on Sunday morning, Caltrans reported I-5 over Tejon Pass open with restrictions, with a dense fog advisory in effect from the Los Angeles–Kern County line to five miles south of the State Route 99 junction at Grapevine Road, and motorists advised to drive with caution.
Source: Caltrans via Bakersfield Brief
What happens next
The closures run nightly this week, ending each morning at 6 a.m. Because the wider pavement project continues through winter 2026–27, further rounds of overnight closures on this stretch are expected in the months ahead. For this week, the practical advice from the reports is simple: expect slow traffic through the work zone at night, leave before the evening closure hours or after 6 a.m. where you can, and check Caltrans QuickMap on the day you travel rather than relying only on this week's plan.