Critics say Democrats turned the local 10 Freeway disaster into a national campaign ad, declaring that the early reopening Sunday night demonstrated a successful, “all hands on deck” government-led effort.
Calling it a DNC advertisement or a public relations blast may be half true, but it was also an example of government joining forces to reopen a major freeway in record time for the betterment of the people, said Professor Fernando Guerra, who heads the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.
“Yeah, it was working together and it was a commercial,” Guerra said on Tuesday Nov. 21. “But there is nothing wrong with government saying when there is a crisis, who do you need? Government. When a freeway burns down, who do you need? Government. It reminded the people that government has a role in society and government works.”
After a severe arson fire damaged an elevated section of the 10 Freeway in East Los Angeles on Nov. 11, Caltrans closed a mile segment, forcing detours and snarling traffic on a freeway used by 300,000 motorists a day. Originally, Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said it could take six months to repair.
Then, after engineers reported the freeway remained structurally sound, they declared reopening would take only 3 to 5 weeks. That changed again, as 24/7 construction crews enabled the freeway lanes to reopen late on Sunday, Nov. 19, and fully reopened it Monday morning. In short, the closure estimates went from months to weeks to only eight days.
If Donald Trump was President, the 10 freeway would still be closed.
Having real partnership in the White House matters.
— Karen Bass (@KarenBassLA) November 21, 2023
Bass posted on X, formerly Twitter, that her partnership with President Biden, and Newsom — all Democrats — made the difference. She wrote: “If Donald Trump was President, the 10 Freeway would still be closed. Having real partnership in the White House matters.”
The…
Read the full article here
