LIVERMORE, Calif. (KRON) – Two lanes of eastbound Interstate-580 near Flynn Road in Livermore are still closed due to storm damage. And starting Thursday morning, a total of three lanes will be shut down.

Those two are still closed because the ground hasn’t been dry enough just yet to start working on it. Caltrans says they’re going to start repairs Thursday, but that will lead to more closures temporarily. 

Traffic on I-580 near the damage has been heavy since Tuesday morning. While drivers can just see the lanes blocked off, on the other side a retaining wall was damaged due to the recent storms. 

You can see pieces of the wall sliding down the hill. All of that dirt is still too wet for Caltrans crews to complete the repairs, but they’re getting ready to fix it once it’s dry.

“We were evaluating the problem, getting some equipment into position because we have to do some paving and some grinding on part of that before we can restripe to get some of the lanes back,” said Bart Ney with Caltrans. 

Ney says safety is their number one priority, and there is no risk driving on the open lanes. They are on solid ground. He says they’re evaluating their options to solidify the closed lanes.

“One (option) is put in piles to shore up the retaining wall at the area where it failed, but they’re also looking at the structural capacity of the system,” Ney said.

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Ney warns that drivers need to expect delays. Caltrans plans to have crews work on a temporary fix starting at 5 a.m. Thursday. That will result in three closed lanes – only two open – until about 1:30 p.m.

“We’re going to restripe the area and get some of the capacity back. So they can use the quick map to take a look before you go, you can take alternate routes, but there’s also public transit,” Ney said.

Caltrans says once they make their evaluation, they will let the public know how they are going to make permanent repairs.