A preliminary review of a program that rents space around and beneath California’s freeways has identified 38 sites that could threaten public infrastructure, including 15 below the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles where a destructive pallet fire at one such property shut down one of the busiest thoroughfares in the country in early November.
Caltrans identified the risky sites based on the “results of recent inspections and characteristics of the site, including nature of known uses and proximity to critical infrastructure,” according to a memo from CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom ordered Caltrans to complete a comprehensive review and assessment of the 601 “airspaces” leased by the state in response to last month’s fire. Records revealed inspectors had flagged safety hazards repeatedly and recommended terminating the lease with the company controlling the property near downtown Los Angeles more than a year before the blaze began, but Caltrans didn’t take action until it filed a lawsuit to evict the company, Apex Development, in September of this year.
Apex hadn’t paid rent since 2020 and owed millions to the state at the time. The company denied having any responsibility for the fire through an attorney.
Since Nov. 11, the agency has conducted new inspections at 30 of the locations flagged in the initial state review.
Los Angeles County is home to nearly half of those potentially problematic sites.
Caltrans rushed to inspect 14 of the 17 local properties immediately following the 10 Freeway fire, records showed. The other three lots are used by self-storage companies that operate mini-warehouses beneath the 10 and the 101 freeways, respectively. Those lots have been leased to the same entities for more than three decades, require more time to inspect and aren’t expected to pose an immediate risk, according to Caltrans.
Inspection reports pending
Caltrans has been unable to provide the inspection reports…
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