The 43-year-old Long Beach Freeway, heavily traveled by trucks serving the Southern California ports, is going to get an overhaul.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California Department of Transportation officials announced plans to begin work on the I-710 freeway, which has already exceeded its life expectancy by 23 years. Trucks make up about 13 percent of the highway's traffic, compared to the 5% anticipated by the highway's designers.
Caltrans will use this project to test a new asphalt pavement they hope will last two or three times longer than current materials. Eventually, the whole 20-mile freeway from Long Beach to the San Bernardino Freeway will be resurfaced, over the next six years.
The first phase will cover a 2.5-mile section from Pacific Coast Highway to the San Diego Freeway in Long Beach. For the next few months, work will be done during weeknights. A year from now, officials plan to close lanes on the stretch of highway for 10 weekends. During the weekend closures, two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction. Traffic will be detoured onto the Harbor, Terminal Island and San Gabriel River freeways, which are designated truck routes.
While the first phase is under way, representatives from local agencies are looking at the freeway in a two-year study to improve traffic conditions on Interstate 710 and nearby surface streets. The I-710 Major Corridor Study Oversight Policy Committee will look at improvements such as dedicated truck lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes and improved or new interchanges.