What you need to know
- On Saturday, CalFire released an image of a person of interest in connection with the fire.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said assistance will be provided to businesses affected by the freeway closures.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom said the highway is scheduled to reopen by Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Additional traffic officers will be added this weekend to help move motorists through high-profile events in the downtown area as restoration work continues on fire-damaged sections of the 10 Freeway, which is expected to reopen by Tuesday, officials said. is scheduled to be placed.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) released an update Saturday saying repairs are progressing well and Interstate 10 is expected to open between Alameda Street and the East Los Angeles Interchange by Nov. 21. It was announced that. More than 250 people are working on site. 12 hour shifts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Six recently installed cameras are providing live coverage of construction work at fixthe10.ca.gov.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Friday that additional transit officers will help ease congestion in the following locations over the weekend:
- USC vs. UCLA football game Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Los Angeles Kings Saturday at Crypto.com Arena
- Los Angeles Rams at So-Fi Stadium on Sunday
- Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday
- The LA Auto Show will be held at the LA Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday.
Similar resources were in place for Friday’s Los Angeles Clippers game at Crypto.com Arena and the opening of the LA Auto Show.
Mr. Bass previously directed the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to make Commuter Express and DASH buses free of charge to encourage commuters to use public transportation. She also called for an increase in the number of white-gloved traffic police officers in congested areas to assist commuters passing through busy intersections.
Support for affected businesses
Bass said assistance will be available to downtown businesses affected by the freeway closure.
“During this difficult time and beyond, my message remains the same: Los Angeles stands by businesses,” the mayor said.
This assistance includes a small business grant program administered by the city’s Department of Economic and Workforce Development.
The grant deadline is December 10th. A dedicated resource center on highway closure issues has also been added to the existing Business Source Center.
Information about these and other resources is available at emergency.lacity.gov.
Scheduled to reopen
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the highway would reopen to five lanes in both directions by Tuesday.
Initial estimates for the repair work were three to five weeks, but officials said structural repairs would be needed not only to the highway deck, but also to as many as 100 pillars damaged in a fire that broke out in a warehouse yard early last Saturday morning. He said it was. under the road.
Engineers later determined that the damage was not as extensive as originally feared.
“Based on the original schedule (three to five weeks), this is a significant improvement,” Newsom said Thursday during an evening news conference at the construction site. “…By next Tuesday, trucks and cars in both directions will be on the move again.” That’s simply because of the extraordinary efforts of those behind me.
“…things continue to move in our favor,” he said.
“That’s not guaranteed. Chemical sampling is still being done daily, but the bridge structure itself appears to be in better condition than expected.”
“We thank our employees for working around the clock. We are on track to open 10 halls before millions of Angelenos leave for Thanksgiving,” Newsom said. did.
At the same press conference, Bass beamed and declared, “Today is a good day in Los Angeles.”
“All the stars aligned and aligned on behalf of Angelenos,” she said.
Bass thanked commuters who heeded warnings to avoid the freeway closure zone between Alameda Street and the East Los Angeles Interchange and encouraged people to stay home, find alternative routes, or He pointed out that people are choosing between relying on public transportation to get to their destination.
“The last few days have been tough, but everyone has worked together. I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you,” Bass said. “…What a gift to Los Angeles to know that the commute will be improved right before the holidays.”
Immediately after the fire last Saturday morning night, authorities feared the highway could be out of service for up to six months if the damage was severe enough to require the building to be demolished and rebuilt.
But earlier this week, Newsom said tests of samples of rebar and concrete from the highway’s deck and supports showed the damage was not as bad as initially feared and could be repaired rather than rebuilt.
This pushed the schedule back to 3-5 weeks, but the latest update has reduced the wait time to a few days.
State officials announced Wednesday that contractors have removed all debris and hazardous materials from beneath the damaged highway.
Caltrans officials said about 264,000 cubic feet of material was removed, enough to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools. More than 20 burnt vehicles were also removed from the area.
The work was completed two days earlier than scheduled.
State officials have set up a website, fixthe10.ca.gov, to provide up-to-date information about the repair process.
fire
The first fire was reported at 12:22 a.m. last Saturday in the 1700 block of East 14th Street, two blocks west of Alameda Street, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Stewart said the large-scale emergency fire, which firefighters from 26 companies worked hard to extinguish and extinguish, started at a pallet yard downtown, spread to another pallet yard, and consumed a fire truck stuck in its path. said.
The original pallet yard was 40,000 square feet in size, and flames had engulfed multiple trailers when firefighters arrived.
The flames spread to a second pallet yard of similar size between Lawrence Street and Elwood Street.
By 2:33 a.m., most of the pallets in both yards had been consumed by the flames, Stewart said, and firefighters were using bulldozers to move debris and extinguish hot spots.
Stewart said firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to three nearby commercial buildings.
Investigators said the fire started inside the storage fence and appeared to have been intentionally set. Officials declined to say exactly how the fire was started or why they immediately determined it was arson.
investigation
On Saturday, CalFire released an image of a person of interest in connection with the fire. Authorities described the person as a man approximately 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 170 to 190 pounds, and between 30 and 35 years of age.
The company leasing the property where the fire occurred, Calabasas-based Apex Development, failed to pay rent because it sublet the property to other companies and allowed flammable materials to be brought in. , is being sued by the state for violating the terms of its lease. To be stored on land.
The lawsuit was filed long before the fire occurred. Another court hearing in the case is scheduled for early next year.
Newsom said Caltrans is investigating all similar leases to determine whether other companies may have violated lease terms. Bass said he has asked all city general managers to report whether their agencies are validly leasing property under the highway.
Bass, who also chairs the Metro board, released a proposal early Thursday that includes a series of steps he wants transit agencies to take to encourage public transit use as long as freeways are closed.
Among the directives included in the motion are eliminating ridership caps on Metro’s low-income fare LIFE program, coordinating with local governments to increase the speed of trains and buses in closed areas, and increasing the system’s This includes an increase in the number of ambassadors. We support riders, especially first-time riders.
The motion also calls for free use of the Metro Bike Share system during the closure period and a reduction in the daily parking fee to 10 cents at Metro Park and Ride parking lots.
“Metro reported a 10% increase in ridership on the E (Expo) Line, which runs parallel to the expressway,” Bass said in a statement. “This shows that our message to use Metro during the closure is resonating, but we are doing more to address the impact on communities and commuters during and after the closure. We have an opportunity to do that, and we continue to work with great urgency.”
Several other Metro board members supported the motion, including County Supervisors Janice Hahn, Holly Mitchell, and Hilda Solis, Whittier Mayor Pro Tem Fernando Dutra, and Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian. agreed.
“This is a common sense solution that will allow more people to get where they need to go by bus or train, while we repair Interstate 10 as quickly as possible,” Hahn said in a statement. It’s about policy.”
The closed portion of Interstate 10 between Alameda Street and the East LA interchange typically sees about 300,000 vehicles per day.
Investigators asked anyone with information about the initial fire to call the hotline at 800-468-4408.