Beware of Road Closures on Route 168

The 124 miles of California State Route 168 stretch from southwest Fresno all the way east to the Nevada border, deep within the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is not a great place to be stuck in standstill traffic. But, that's what the next few weeks will bring to the route.

Caltrans is closing the highway intermittently for 20 minutes at a time. The reason is kind of cool -- Cal Tech is participating in a telescope relocation project that needs the highway to accommodate over-sized telescopes that are being moved from Cedar Flat to Big Pine -- but that will surely be little solace to drivers caught in the mess. If you're traveling between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., you have nothing to worry about. If you're not, well, expect delays if you're driving in the area.

So, before heading out that way, it's probably wise to either check in with the California Department of Transportation website or call 1-800-427-ROAD (7623) to find out about closures. Better yet, find yourself an alternate route. The project is scheduled to last from now until July 10th.