Those looking to take a drive this weekend – while still maintaining social distancing guidelines – are going to want to avoid Highway 12.

According to Caltrans, the highway that connects Sebastopol in Sonoma County to San Andreas in Calaveras County will have a section closed between I-5 and Highway 84 so that work can be completed on the Mokelumne River bridge.

The highway will be closed from I-5 to nearly Rio Vista while crews perform the work on the heavily-traveled bridge during a window of time that has been shrunk down to only 36 hours.

And the work is going to take more than just this weekend.

The closure will begin today at 6 a.m. and remain in effect until 6 p.m. on Sunday and remain open until May 8 when the same section of roadway closes from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. on May 11. The final weekend closure will take begin on May 15 at 9 p.m. and continue through the weekend until 5 a.m. on May 18.

Because Highway 12 is a vital connecting route for commuters getting from San Joaquin County to points in the Bay Area – and the shortest route to get to places like Fairfield and Travis Air Force Base, which is home to more than 7,000 active duty military personnel and more than 3,000 civilian workers – the closures are scheduled to take place over the weekend to not interfere with commute traffic.

Walnut Grove Road to the north of Highway 12 will serve as a detour for traffic during the three weekend work sessions – allowing motorists to use Highway 160 to get from I-5 to the open section of Highway 12 and provide access to the Bay Area and the connecting highways located west of Rio Vista.

For additional information about the closures or other freeway happenings in and around San Joaquin County visit the Caltrans District 10 website at https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-10.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.