It seems as if every few weeks something happens on the southbound I-5 to completely bring the entire Newhall Pass -and much of the SCV as a result- to a standstill.
Last time it was spilled pomegranates. This time it’s cardboard. What’s it going to be next? Nerf balls? Tickle Me Elmos?
The southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Sylmar were blocked Tuesday morning after a big rig flipped over near the Newhall Pass.
The 4 a.m. accident near the Roxford Street exit spurred the California Highway Patrol to issue a SigAlert about 20 minutes later.
Although all lanes of the southbound freeway were closed, CHP officers were directing traffic onto the right shoulder to allow cars to move, said CHP Officer Anthony Martin.
The big rig was leaking diesel, he said.
CHP officers initially estimated the freeway would be opened two hours after the accident but later changed the status of the reopening to “undetermined,” Martin said.
The cause of the big-rig crash was under investigation.
Five years ago there were reports that someday a freeway & tunnel might be built from the 14 to the 210, allowing the AV and SCV to bypass the Newhall Pass altogether. But I haven’t seen anything on that in several years. In the 1960s, I recall there was a CalTrans proposal to build a highway through or near Towsley Canyon, but that (thankfully) never happened.
It’s pretty clear now that no alternate highway systems are coming; we’re going to be stuck with the vulnerable Newhall Pass even as we add more people to the SCV and the Antelope Valley.
It’s too bad we don’t have a rail option from the SCV to the west San Fernando Valley & West Los Angeles.
Loading ...
According to the map, traffic is backed up on San Fernando… I mean Newhall Ave. all the way to Takuyumam.
I left my house at 8:30 and got to work in the valley at 9:35. If I had been in my car instead of my motorcycle I’d still be on the road!
Just wait until we have those 500,000 folk living in the SCV! Go OVOV.
What’s your point NFIC? We’re told that they’ll all have local jobs.
Yeah right – jobs at Magic Mountain! Are we going to get 20 companies at 5,000 jobs each or 100 companies at 1,000 jobs each of 1,000 companies at 100 jobs each in this valley? How many local jobs are there that pay enough to meet the average income level locally?
What website did that map come from?
thanks. never used the traffic feature on Google before. More of a Bing person myself.
Thank God for KCRW! I heard about the accident in my driveway so quickly rerouted to Sierra Highway (which was still wide open) and successfully jumped to the 210, bypassing the freeway altogether (that only works before a certain hour, however, since people will eventually make the jump to the Old Road and Sierra Highway and it gets backed up.
I guess for all the heartache I put up with owning and operating a business within the city confines this is the one saving grace.
Graveyard had its advantage this morning.
I was waving at the Southbound mess heading North to the 14.
Never good when the sky vultures are hovering.
Pssst … Little Tujunga via Sand Canyon … ssshhhh … pass it on …
(Beautiful drive too. Top down, coffee in hand … oops! Work … yechh!)
Or you can head out on the 126, then south on A Street to Moorpark, and eventually down to the 118. That’s the route Mr. RM took this morning.
Don’t leave out that “eventually” includes the beautiful but guardrail-less Grimes Canyon!
Pingback: Here we go again: 2 lanes closed on 5N; traffic snarled | SCVTalk.com