The I-10 Freeway is expected to reopen next Tuesday, at the latest, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a press conference Thursday. The freeway shut down last weekend after a fire — which authorities suspect may have been arson — damaged the structure and was originally expected to take three to five weeks to repair.
“One thing we can guarantee you is we will be open five lanes in both directions, at the latest, Tuesday of next week,” Newsom said at the press conference. “We’re gonna do everything in our power to see if we can move that closer, but we don’t want to overpromise,” he added.
Mayor Karen Bass and Gloria Roberts, District 7 director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) also attended the press conference.
Bass thanked Angelenos at the conference for moving off of the roadways and onto public transportation over the last week to avoid worsening traffic congestion. Considered one of the busiest in L.A., about 300,000 vehicles travel along this freeway on a daily basis.
Caltrans ran repairs on the freeway alongside 250 contractors, using wooden structures to support the structure while repairing its over 100 damaged columns. Newsom said the bridge seemed “to be in better shape than we anticipated.”
The fire that damaged the freeway originated underneath in a property leased from Caltrans, which housed pallets and hand sanitizer, among other flammable objects. While officials located the source of the fire — a storage yard owned by Apex Development Inc., they have yet to make any statements on who was at fault. Apex Development had illegally subleased their space to numerous other companies, which they are currently in litigation with the state for, according to the Los Angeles Times.
As for the cause, Newsom confirmed at a Monday press conference that an arson investigation was ongoing.
Since the fire, officials have urged commuters to take alternate routes or public transportation to avoid a build-up of traffic. This recommendation continues until the bridge is fixed.
“Just a few more days of following the detours, so we continue to urge that everybody exercise patience and caution,” Roberts said.