Caltrans says that work on the Interstate 8 Imperial Avenue Interchange Project could start as soon as May 5.

Stage 1 of the work will be on the southern portion of I-8 and will take 8 to 10 months to complete. Stage 1 will include closures on southbound Imperial Avenue to eastbound I-8 and eastbound I-8 to northbound Imperial Avenue. Construction signs will go up this week but the traffic impacts of State 1 will not happen until early July. The I-8 westbound off-ramp to Imperial Avenue and westbound on-ramp from Imperial Avenue will remain open during Stage 1. The project will remove the exiting bridge and eastbound on- and off-ramps and then reconstruct the structure and on- and off-ramps in both directions. A new entrance loop from southbound Imperial Avenue to eastbound I-8 and access to the City of El Centro's expansion south of the freeway are included. 

Stage 2 of the project will begin in the spring/summer of 2021 and take 4 to 6 months to complete. Stage 2 will see I-8 / Imperial Avenue on- and off-ramps fully closed one direction at a time. Nighttime full closures of the intersection will take place several times during the project as crews take down the old structure . 

Total cost of the project is approximately $44 million with $42 million funded through the Regional Improvement Program and another $2 million from the Federal Highway Priority Projects Program. The project will allow the extension of Imperial Avenue south of the Interstate and permit the City to develop in that direction.