60 Freeway to be closed at night through Tuesday
The 60 Freeway near Montebello will be closed at night through Tuesday so workers can finish demolishing the Paramount Boulevard overpass damaged by the massive tanker explosion last week.
The California Department of Transportation also plans nightly lane closures on the 5 and 405 freeways for scheduled repairs and maintenance over the next few weeks, probably leading to scattered traffic snarls during the holiday period.
All westbound lanes of the 60 between the 605 interchange and the 710 will be shut down from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for three consecutive nights, Caltrans said. The closures were set to begin late Sunday.
A tanker truck filled with thousands of gallons of gasoline exploded on the 60 Freeway early Wednesday afternoon, damaging the roadway and overpass and shutting down an east-west corridor that is one of the busiest in the nation. The freeway reopened Saturday.
Eastside and Inland Empire drivers likened the traffic chaos during the closure to what had been forecast for “Carmageddon,” the 405 Freeway closure last summer that, largely because of the advance warning given motorists, ended up being little more than a mild inconvenience.
In other traffic disruptions, the northbound 405 Freeway around Seal Beach will be blocked each weeknight from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for scheduled maintenance. The southbound lanes won’t be affected but will be closed for repairs in mid-January, according to Caltrans.
Ongoing work to widen the 5 Freeway through the San Fernando Valley will also prompt nightly closure of all but one lane in each direction from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Caltrans has not yet said whether work schedules will change during the Christmas and New Year’s weekends.
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