A significant portion of a highway in Los Angeles that was closed due to fire damage would reopen no later than Tuesday next week, November 21. This is way sooner than the authorities had first projected, allowing the drivers and commuters to avoid the holiday traffic rush.
I-10 Freeway to Reopen Ahead of Schedule
An aerial picture taken on November 13, 2023 shows burnt cars and other debris under the I-10 freeway after a large fire led to the shutdown of the freeway, also called the Santa Monica Freeway, in both directions, in Los Angeles.
Over 100 columns supporting the Interstate 10 highway, a major route throughout the city, were destroyed when a fire broke out early on the morning of November 11. As a result, a nearly two-mile stretch of the road, which normally handles over 300,000 cars per day, was closed.
Officials first estimated that it may take months to reopen the affected area. In order to hasten the process of fixing the damage, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency.
Samples of the damaged stretch of I-10 were analyzed by engineers, and within days, it was decided that the road could be repaired without having to be fully rebuilt.
LA Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Newsom slashed the timeframe further on Thursday, November 16, saying they want all lanes to be available by Thanksgiving.
"This is what happens when we work with urgency. This is what happens when we come together. I want to make sure that there are no barriers to completely finishing the repair and that when the freeway opens up, it will be completely safe," Bass said in a statement, as reported by the New York Times.
She also said that the city's agencies will keep responding quickly to people's needs while the traffic restriction and work progress. Notably, businesses and commuters in the vicinity were impacted since the burnt stretch of the expressway connected to many other routes.
Newsom issued a statement expressing his appreciation for the crews working to safely repair the highway. "I'm grateful for the crews working around the clock to safely repair the 10 so we can get Los Angeles's traffic moving in days instead of weeks,"
See Also: Los Angeles I-10 Freeway Fire Was' Set Intentionally,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom Claims
LA's Homelessness Management Is Under Fire
It is believed that the fire that broke out in a downtown industrial area was intentionally set in a shed full of wooden pallets, according to the police and Newsom. The land itself is held by the California Department of Transportation, but a Southern California building firm named Apex Development Inc. leased the airspace beneath the highway exit ramps.
Despite the positive developments, LA is under increasing scrutiny for how it deals with its homeless population. The fire under the city's roadway damaged steel guardrails and concrete supports, raising doubts about authorities' response to the homelessness crisis.
Three years ago, a court called 7,000 people living beneath roads "unreasonably dangerous." Camps and improvised shelters remain under overpasses and highway ramps despite the over $300-million budget for 6,700 shelter beds.
Bass warned against blaming homeless people for the fire, yet the speculation persisted.
