Fire-damaged L.A. freeway will reopen ahead of schedule, governor says
CALTRANS DISTRICT 7 VIA AP
This photo provided by the California Department of Transportation shows a work crew shoring up a section under Interstate 10 that was severely damaged in a fire in an industrial zone near downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The area under the freeway that burned last weekend, damaging a section of a key thoroughfare in the car-dependent city, was stacked with flammable materials on lots leased by the state through a little-known program that now is under scrutiny.
LOS ANGELES >> Repairs to an elevated Los Angeles freeway closed because of an arson fire are moving faster than expected and all lanes are scheduled to reopen by next Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
Earlier this week officials said it could take crews between three and five weeks to shore up the mile-long stretch of Interstate 10 near downtown after the blaze last Saturday burned about 100 support columns.
“The bridge structure itself seems to be in better shape than we anticipated,” Newsom said during an evening news conference. “One thing we can guarantee you is we will be open, five lanes in both directions, at the latest Tuesday of next week.”
More than 250 people were working around the clock to make the repairs, he said.
“This is a good day in Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.
The fire that spread quickly over 8 acres (3 hectares) was fed by pallets, cars, construction materials, hand sanitizer and other items being stored under the freeway in an industrial neighborhood. No injuries were reported, but at least 16 homeless people living in an encampment there were taken to shelters.
The arson investigation was ongoing, officials said. No arrests have been made and Newsom has said investigators are trying to determine if more than one person was involved.
An estimated 300,000 vehicles use the stretch of freeway daily, which runs east-west across the heart of the metropolis and connects with other major highways. The city has been urging people to avoid the area, take buses and trains, or work from home.
