Eastbound I8 to close temporarily Saturday morning for officer funeral procession
Sep 20, 2024
All lanes of eastbound Interstate 8 between Mission Valley and El Cajon will be temporarily closed Saturday morning as the funeral procession for San Diego police Officer Austin Machitar passes through.
Commuters can expect delays from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., with the procession beginning near Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley and heading east down Friars Road.
The procession will head south on Interstate 15 briefly, then east on Interstate 8 to Greenfield Drive in El Cajon, ending at Shadow Mountain Community Church. Motorists will not be allowed to pass or join the procession, which will move slowly, Caltrans said.
Freeway ramps along the route will also be affected:
Eastbound I-8 at I-15
Southbound I-15 to eastbound/westbound I-8
Northbound I-15 to eastbound I-8
Eastbound I-8 off-ramp to Mission Gorge Road/Fairmount Avenue
Southbound state Route 125 to eastbound I-8
Northbound SR-125 to eastbound I-8
Southbound state Route 67 to eastbound I-8
Commuters are encouraged to take alternate routes. However, there are several freeway overpasses where the public may view the procession.
Lanes will reopen as the procession moves east, Caltrans said.
Machitar, 30, died after a teen driver who was fleeing from other officers crashed into his patrol vehicle Aug. 26 in Clairemont. Officer Zach Martinez, 27, riding in the passenger seat, was critically injured.
The teen, Edgar Giovanny Oviedo, 16, also died.