Traffic delays likely during Saturday’s Vineman

About 700 athletes on Saturday are expected to swim, ride and run a total of 140.4 miles through western and northern parts of Sonoma County, and that will mean traffic delays on numerous roads.

Numerous intersections will have CHP officers and Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies and explorers on duty to control traffic as the racers pass by.

The race begins at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville with a 2.4-mile swim, then there’s 112-mile bike ride that goes from Guerneville to Healdsburg to the Geyserville area and south to Windsor and finally there’s a 26-mile run that loops from Windsor to the southeast and back. Click here for map of the bike course and click here for the map of the run course.

CHP Officer Jon Sloat said 30 officers on overtime — paid by the Vineman organization — will be at intersections in the unincorporated parts of the county, starting at 8 a.m. and some lasting until 6 p.m., depending upon where they are along the race course. He said none of the CHP intersections will be closed all day to traffic.

In Windsor, where 13 deputies, four explorers and one community service officer will be on duty, there’ll be more traffic restrictions. The deputies and community service officer also are on overtime paid by the Vineman promoter. The explorers are volunteer youths.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Gossett, who is assigned to the Windsor Police Department, listed these intersections:

– Shiloh Road at Old Redwood Highway will have traffic controls 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., with no left turn from Old Red.

–Skylane Boulevard at Shiloh Road, traffic control from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., with no left turn from Shiloh onto Skylane and 19th Hole Drive.

–Mitchell Lane closed at Windsor Road, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

–Vintage Green closed at Windsor Road, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

–Windsor Road closed to southbound traffic from Windsor High School to Rieman Lane.

–Oak Way closed at Rieman.

–Rieman at Starr Road, traffic control from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

–Starr at Burgundy, traffic control from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

–Starr at Windsor River Road, traffic control from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Besides watching out for the racers, drivers need to watch for the officers and others directing traffic. At the Vineman Ironman race July 18, a CHP officer directing traffic at Aviation and Airport boulevards was hit by a minivan. The driver told officers he saw one officer directing traffic but not the one he hit.

Sloat said Sgt. Mack Lewis, a 20-year veteran, is expected to be off duty for a while as he recovers.