A massive rebuilding of about a mile of busy Interstate 5 in downtown Sacramento begins this Friday, May 30th. Detours and delays are expected to cause consternation for the estimated 200,000 motorists who use that section of the freeway daily. At various time, northbound and southbound lanes will be closed to all traffic during the six-week project. Caltrans says there will be approximately two weeks of lane and ramp restrictions to each direction of I-5 from the Capitol City Freeway-U.S. Highway 50 interchange to Richards Boulevard so contractors can replace freeway drainage and pavement. After curing, an additional week of lane and ramp restrictions will take place to allow time for the contractor to apply a polyester sealant. The area is called the "Boat Section" because it is below the water level of the nearby Sacramento River. In the late 1960s when I-5 was being built, the area had to be drained and a system of pumps installed to keep it from filling up with water during storms. “The problem is underneath the surface,” Caltrans says. “River silt and sand have blocked the drainage system that has been in place since the road was completed in the early ‘70s. As ground water has pushed through joints in the seals slab, the water has nowhere to go but up through the pavement. This is causing cracks, spills and deterioration on the surface.”