Caltrans construction crews opened both northbound lanes of state Route 67 in the Lakeside/Ramona area Wednesday following the completion of emergency pavement repair work.
The roadway north of Slaughterhouse Canyon Road to south of Foster Truck Trail was opened to traffic at 7 a.m.
Emergency work began when a depression was discovered under northbound lanes around 3 a.m. Tuesday during scheduled paving operations. What was originally thought to be a sinkhole was eventually classified as a pavement failure due to a saturated clay subgrade, according to Caltrans. It is believed that the saturation was the result of underground runoff from this winter's storms.
Crews excavated a trench 12.5 feet wide, 85 feet long and six feet deep to remove the saturated clay subgrade. The area was backfilled with a class two aggregate base made of sand and crushed rock, three layers of geogrid and capped with eight inches of type A asphalt concrete, Caltrans officials said.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
"We would like to thank the communities of Lakeside, Ramona and Julian, the traveling public and local businesses for their patience and understanding while we completed this emergency work project," said Caltrans District 11 Acting Director Allan Kosup.
The striping of the lanes will coincide with the ongoing SR-67 Pavement Rehabilitation Project in the next day or two.
