October 2007 Archives

Wildfires around Los Angeles County have caused 30 roads to be closed, causing headaches for commuters.

Before getting in your car and getting stuck in bottlenecks, check out the updated list of road closures on the county's Department of Public Works Web site. Here 'tis the LINK.

Caltrans also lists road closings. You can see them HERE.

Avoid the migraine today and stay off the Ventura (101) Freeway and the San Diego (405) Freeway if you can because they are nothing but bottlenecks.

The rain, at least three accidents and a detour near Los Angeles International Airport have traffic backed up for miles.

Closest to the San Fernando Valley is a crash involving a car that flew over the embankment around 8:45 a.m. near the southbound 405 Freeway and the westbound 101 Freeway. Then a person was found slumped over the steering wheel at La Tijera Boulevard and the southbound 405 Freeway. And there's a wreck at Century Boulevard and the 405 Freeway, said Officer Jose Nunez, California Highway Patrol.

In addition, a water main break that happened Tuesday at Century and Sepulveda boulevards is still a big old mess. Repairs are expected by noon today. Meanwhile traffic is being diverted at northbound Sepulveda Boulevard at Imperial Highway near the airport entrance.

Blinding sandstorms in the High Desert were blamed for a series of afternoon collisions that killed four people and injured several others in a series of highway pileups, officials said today.

Just north of Lancaster, two elderly men died and 16 people were hospitalized in three collisions that involved a total of four big rigs and eight other vehicles, said Officer Henry Ross of the California Highway Patrol.

The victims were not identified. Two of the injured were listed in critical condition, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla.

Winds were gusting up to 58 mph about 1:30 p.m., triggering three collisions on the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway near Avenue B, CHP and fire officials said.

Get the story by Daily News writers Jerry Berrios and Karen Maeshiro HERE.

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Although north and southbound lanes on the Golden State (5) Freeway in the Newhall Pass have opened following Friday's deadly crash and fire, the truck tunnel beneath the roadway remains indefinitely closed until it's repaired, Caltrans officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, cars and trucks will share the freeway the road, that was closed over the weekend from a 31-vehicle pile-up Friday on the southbound truck bypass. Authorities have installed braces in the tunnel for extra support.

For all of you transit trivia buffs, there's a growing Web site tracking the history of public transportation in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.

Called the Transit Insider, the site lists decades of detailed information about Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank. It's the baby of Kymberleigh Richards, who sits on Metro's San Fernando Valley Service Sector and on the nonprofit board of the Southern California Transit Advocates.

Richards most prized fact found to date is about a bus line set to ferry passengers from the San Fernando Valley to Century City in 1980 but was cancelled by the RTD board about one month before it was set to take off. She calls it Line 570: The RTD Line that never was.

Check out her site HERE.

From iPhones to blackberries, hand-held electronic devices with Internet access can click onto Metro's Web site and get up-to-the minute info on traffic, trip planning and maps of the mass transit system.

Go to metro.net/mobile to access the stuff, tailor fit for small screens and slow Internet access.

What other would be helpful with your commute? Tell our blog!

Whether you’re pushing for a subway, rail or major bus line to serve the Westside, Metro wants to hear from you in a series of five upcoming community meetings that start Tuesday.

Under a $3.6 million study, Metro is examining ways to improve mobility and will consider new modes of transportation, alignments and stations. The transit agency is gathering public comment to help shape the final decision.

All meetings happen from 6-8 p.m:
-- Oct. 9, Emerson Middle School, 1650 Selby Ave., Los Angeles
-- Oct. 11, Pan Pacific Recreation Center, 7600 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles
-- Oct. 16, Wilshire United Methodist Church, 4350 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
-- Oct. 17, Beverly Hills Public Library Auditorium, 444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills
-- Oct. 18, Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica

Following Sacramento's budget decision to divert $1.3 billion from transportation, the Automobile Club of Southern California has launched “The Road Ahead,” a campaign to beef up transparency, public awareness and commuters’ influence over how transportation money is spent.

Check it out at www.AAA.com/roadahead.