On Saturday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in L.A. due to a huge fire that took over the Santa Monica 10 freeway.
After a storage yard that contained pallets and hazardous material under the I-10 freeway caught on fire, transportation officials had to stop all traffic on both sides in order to check if the concrete was in bad condition and if it could be reinforced.
According to a statement by Caltrans, the state transportation officials stated that about 450 feet of the freeway was affected by the fire.
Tuesday morning, there has been an update on the situation during a conference. According to Newsom, the freeway won’t need to be demolished, rather it can be repaired. He also said the fire was likely started by arson.
Newsom tweeted on Twitter that the freeway is expected to be closed for three to five weeks in order for the state to work on the damages.
Caltrans District 7, Cal Fire and the California Highway Patrol will help repair the damages on the freeway around the clock in order to have the freeway reopened as quickly as possible.
Roughly 300,000 commuters use the 10 freeway daily, making it one of the main routes in the country, CBS reported.
Newsom also mentioned that the crew will be installing cameras so the public can see the progress of the project as they go day by day on fixthe10.ca.gov.
During a conference Tuesday morning, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged commuters to continue taking steps to help lessen the impact on the streets and freeways by working from home or commuting through public transportation.