More reopenings for the 10 Freeway Wednesday with ramps and streets
The 10 Freeway reopened on Sunday evening a week after a destructive fire led to its closure and on Wednesday morning there were more reopenings of affected on- and off-ramps.
Caltrans announced the reopening Wednesday of the westbound 10 Freeway Alameda Street off-ramp and the westbound on-ramp from Santa Fe Avenue/ Mateo Street/ East 8th Street.
The freeway, used by nearly 300,000 commuters, had been closed since November 11 following suspected arson. The blaze completely decimated a storage yard below the freeway, which was filled with pallets, construction materials and used vehicles. The fire caused extensive destruction to the roadway, damaging about 100 supportive columns below it.
In a news conference Sunday, Gov. Newsom announced the earlier-than-anticipated reopening was a result of 10,000 hours of labor by union members. The freeway was initially expected to be under repair for three to five weeks.
The Governor added that there may be episodic closures of the 10 Freeway for more permanent fixes and supportive repairs of the thoroughfare which will result in some temporary closures on occasional weekends and overnight, along with intermittent lane closures.
Meanwhile, CalFire officials released a pair of images showing the arson suspect they're searching for on Saturday. They described the "person of interest" as a man in his 30s who is around 6-feet tall and weighs between 170 and 190 pounds. He has black hair. In the images, the man is seen wearing blue shorts, a black jacket, a black backpack and a green scarf. He also had a knee brace on his right leg.
Authorities also said the subject "appeared to have suffered visible burn injuries on his left leg." They are working to identify him.
"Our investigators along with Los Angeles Police Department detectives have been scouring the neighborhood really from day 1," said a Fire Marshal. "We have interviewed witnesses."
An arson investigation remains underway and no arrests have been made. Anyone who recognized the individual in the images above was asked to call Cal Fire's arson hotline at 1-800-468-4408.
