An all-star cast of elected officials shared the news at daybreak: The fire-damaged 10 Freeway will be open for the Monday commute.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla and Mayor Karen Bass gathered on Sunday morning, Nov 18 to spread the news.
“Good morning Los Angeles, and this is a great day in our city,” Bass declared. The mayor praised Caltrans crews — and also commuters for their patience.
“This thing opens tonight and will be fully operational tomorrow,” said Newsom.
Permanent fixes, the governor said, will be made over the course of several weeks, “maybe a few months,” but that won’t impact the opening of five lanes in both directions, which he said would come in about eight hours following the news conference.
There will be some “episodic” closures, mostly at night, going forward,” he added.
“This is a significant and big day,” Newsom said.
Harris praised the union workers who often put in “as many as 14 hours a day.”
She added: “It’s extraordinary work that happened here. Tomorrow the commute is back on and happy Thanksgiving.”
In the aftermath of last weekend’s intense overnight fire set off by wooden pallets burning beneath a roughly 450-foot span of the freeway overpass at the 1700 block of E. 14th Street last Saturday, officials feared the freeway could be out of commission for up to six months — then announced that the likely timetable for reopening would be 3-5 weeks.
The blaze spread swiftly, gobbling up tons of goods stacked in the acres of land under the sprawling freeway. Authorities on Saturday released photos and a description of a man they want to question in connection with the fire that damaged a part of the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles last weekend, and they are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating him.
The man was described as being 30 to 35 years old and 6-feet tall, according to Cal Fire. He was seen on surveillance wearing a black…
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