I5 Closed Due to Massive Freeway Accident

UPDATE 10/15 @ 7:45 a.m.

All northbound and southbound lanes on I-5 are now open to traffic.  Despite the freeway opening to traffic in both directions earlier then expected, motorists should still plan for additional commute time when leaving for their destination. 

Update (Director of CalTrans, Will Kempton, says Tuesday morning would be the absolute earliest the freeway will open and that is only if all goes as planned.) 

There was a horrible 15-vehicle accident (5-6 semi trucks) last night at about 11pm on the I5 in an underpass that resulted in a pile up and a blazing fire that spanned about 1/8th of a mile long and caused an indefinite closure of the freeway.  The fire burned so hot that the steel in the concrete overpass began to expand resulting in the concrete shattering and falling.

As of now, two deaths have been reported, and there is one truck driver that is said to be missing.  It is not known if there are any passenger vehicles under the debris of the 15 trucks.  There have been many injuries as a result of this accident and firefighters, CHP and CalTrans are working 24/7 to get I5 open by Tuesday morning at the absolute earliest.  Crews are working 10 feet at a time into the tunnel removing debris in a methodical manner for safety reasons as well as taking into consideration that they may encounter human remains.

The 5 is closed from the 126 to the Roxford offramp and traffic is being diverted through the SCV to the 14 which is open and moving very slowly.  At 6am this morning KABC reported that you could access I5 South via the 14, but I5 Northbound was closed.  According to reports from local residents, it is about a 1 hour and 45 minute delay to get out of the SCV.

KABC has more on the story here. 

Assemblyman Camyron Smith’s office has been working with the governor’s office to try and receive a state of emergency declaration in order to receive funds needed to bring the freeway back to safe conditions.

I have a friend that was driving home at about 11:30 last night from the valley and they didn’t get home until about 3:30.  What a nightmare. Apparently, there was one accident that caused the first truck to slam on his brakes which started the reaction.  The rain always makes for hazardous driving conditions, but the first rain of the season adds danger due to the road being more slippery than normal. 

If you have any other stories or comments, please leave them so we can provide as much information as possible.    
 

Teen Wants a Signal

VALENCIA TEEN REQUESTS TRAFFIC SIGNAL

This article caught my eye today in the paper.  Basically, a Valencia High school student is requesting the installation of a traffic signal on a street in her neighborhood after a six-year-old boy was hit by a car two weeks ago on a Saturday evening.

14-year-old Kelsey George went before the City Council on Tuesday night with a petition in support of her motion, urging councillors to install a traffic signal at either the intersection of McBean Parkway and Summerhill Lane, or McBean Parkway and Skycrest Circle Drive - two intersections that are notorious for collisions.

Tristin Bizarro was hit by an SUV on the evening of September 15th. From what I’ve heard, he is recovering in hospital.

According to City Manager Ken Striplin, the city’s traffic department has already received a great deal of feedback from residents worried about the lack of traffic signals north of Decoro Drive on McBean Parkway.

I agree 100%  I use the WAMU there a lot and leaving there to turn left onto McBean is scary.  Cars jam down the street.  I can’t even imagine what happened to that poor boy.  Geez, hope he’s ok.

Anybody have any updates on his condition?

Westfield Mall Adds Traffic Controllers

I went to the mall last might at about 10pm to pick up my daughter from Buca De Beppo.  Usually this can be a daunting task since the traffic at that time is crazy and there are alot of teens, and adults for that matter, around that cross the street without looking, etc.   The crosswalk between Buca and Salt Creek can be a life sentence at times because people just keep crossing and you just can’t seem to find a window to pull your car through. 

Well, not anymore.  I was happy to see that there are now traffic controllers stationed there.  One is in that hot spot infront of Salt Creek and the other is in front of BJ’s.  Whoever came up with that idea.  Genius!

Now there’s an example of change that is good.  Not changing everything around, just adding one small thing that makes a huge difference.

Bouquet Canyon and Valencia Intersection

I’ll admit that I was very skeptical about this whole 3 lane left turn thing when I first heard of it a few months ago.  Anyone that’s been stuck at the intersection of Bouquet and Valencia between 4pm and 7pm can attest to the painful waiting at the light and back-ups into other lanes, etc. 

I’ve always tried my best to avoid that area during those hours and I’ve done a pretty good job of it because I really had no idea the progress they had made over recent weeks.

I drove up Valencia to turn left onto Bouquet and was pleasantly surprised to see that the lanes are done.  There are 3 lanes there now (one is not open yet, but it looks done).  The left turn signal seems to last longer than normal and I had no wait at all.  I have not tried it from the Bouquet side turning left to Soledad yet, but it looked like those lanes might be done as well.  

I also noticed that the inside left turn lane is now labeled "NO TRUCKS" so more cars will be able to squeeze through those lights.

Newhall Ranch Rd Now Open

The cross valley connector is now open from I5 through to Copperhill. I took a drive today and it is quite a bit longer than I expected. It’s the only stretch of road that had no traffic today at 5:30pm in the SCV. I don’t know what was going on, but the signals were all messed up at McBean and Magic Mountain. The traffic was horrendous over there.

Anyway, take a drive and check out the new strip of road. Enjoy the wide open space. There isn’t even a Starbucks there yet.

Local Media Truck in Santa Clarita

I just saw this truck driving around town. I was only able to get a picture of the back, but on the side there are advertisements flashing and changing. This can’t be good for traffic.

So it kinda looks like this is a moving billboard. Is that violating any city rules? It’s really distracting.

Bouquet Cyn and Soledad Intersection

According to the Signal the city is adding a left turn lane at Valencia Blvd. right where it turns to Soledad Cyn and at Bouquet Cyn right where it meets that same intersection. Now bear in mind that there are already 2 left turn lanes there at each street. So that means they will add a third.

Now in all my years of driving, I have never seen 3 left turn lanes. Maybe I need to get out more, but I just haven’t seen it. It’ll probably take a year for this to be complete, but I’m looking forward to the nice change, as are all those folks that wait at the lights, I’m sure. Apparently over 100,000 cars cross that intersection daily.