Freeway

Re: “L.A. City Council spurns 710 tunnel, Aug. 29.” Just do it! Finish the 710 Freeway extension as originally planned more than 40 years ago and forget most of the protest from most of those who were not even around when the project was first started. Many have enjoyed living in the houses that were bought by the California Department of Transportation, including me, many years ago in El Sereno. Has anyone ever mentioned the inconvenience, noise and air pollution that has existed for residents in Alhambra, El Sereno and San Marino for all those years?

Firefighters extinguished a one-acre grass fire near the Golden State (5) Freeway at the Ventura (134) Freeway interchange on Tuesday that briefly stopped traffic. Crews from four fire companies, including Glendale and Los Angeles, attacked the blaze, which was reported about 1:25 p.m., said Katherine Main, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman. The blaze was extinguished about 30 minutes later. The northbound 5 Freeway transition to the westbound 134 Freeway was briefly shut down as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze, she said.

Authorities are in the process of closing down all lanes of the Foothill (210) Freeway near Lowell Avenue in La Crescenta as emergency crews prepare to airlift at least one occupant of a car that slammed into the rear of a tractor trailer. It was not immediately clear how many victims needed to be extricated from the crash, which occurred on the eastbound side of the freeway just past Lowell, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. All lanes will be closed shortly to prepare for the helicopter's landing, with the victim or victims slated to be airlifted to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Firefighters on Wednesday quickly extinguished two small brush fires that broke out along the Glendale (2) Freeway near Mountain Street. The fires were discovered in two oleander bushes about 1:25 p.m. along the northbound 2 Freeway, just south of the Mountain Street exit, Glendale Fire Capt. Stuart Stefani said. Fire Engine 21 arrived at the blaze and doused it within minutes while another fire crew ensured the firefighters were safe on the freeway, he said.

A man in his 60s had to be airlifted to a hospital with severe injuries after his truck slammed into the back of a big rig on the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway in La Crescenta on Friday. A helicopter airlifted t he victim, whose identity was not immediately available, to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with severe cuts to his face, arms and legs, in addition to internal trauma, Glendale Fire Battalion Chief Tom Propst said. The crash, which occurred in the eastbound lanes of the freeway just past Lowell Avenue, was reported about 3:20 p.m. after the man's pickup apparently slammed into the big rig's trailer.

Two crashes on the Ventura (134) Freeway in both directions this morning is snarling the morning commute in and out of Glendale. An overturned vehicle on the eastbound 134 Freeway near Harvey Drive briefly shut down the No. 3 and 4 lanes as emergency crews worked to clear the wreckage to the right shoulder. And a five-car pile up reported at about 7 a.m. in the westbound lanes before the 170 Freeway temporarily closed several lanes, backing traffic up to the Golden State (5)

Caltrans will close sections of the Ventura (134) Freeway over the next three days as crews repair areas that were damaged during the tanker fire on April 7. The periodic closures, which started Thursday, continue through Sunday, and will impact the westbound lanes from Riverside Drive to Pacific. On Friday, lanes will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, lanes will be closed from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Westbound drivers will be rerouted to another 134 Freeway ramp.

Los Angeles County Coroner's officials have identified a 37-year-old motorist who was killed Friday when he lost control of his vehicle, which overturned on the Ventura (134) Freeway in Glendale. The motorist, Jimmy Hughes Jr., was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. While California Highway Patrol officials said Hughes was from Los Angeles, coroner's investigators had not pinned down his residence as of Saturday. Hughes was driving a Chevy Suburban onto the westbound 134 Freeway from the southbound Glendale (2)

All lanes of the northbound 5 Freeway at the 110 interchange have reopened following a deadly collision that left one person dead, authorities said Friday morning. At 7:54 a.m. the freeway reopened, said Officer Cheyenne Quesada with the California Highway Patrol. “It's moving right along just fine,” Quesada said. The northbound side of the freeway was closed Friday morning after a high-speed pursuit of suspected robbers led to the crash. The incident began when police received a 1:46 a.m. call about a robbery at a 7-Eleven store off East 4th Street and South Cummings Street in which a suspect drew a knife, said Sgt. Peter Gamino of the Los Angeles Police Department.

All lanes of 5 Freeway near Elysian Park are expected to be closed until at least 9 a.m. as the result of a big rig crash, officials said early Tuesday. At about 3:16 a.m., a driver lost control of a big rig, which hit the center divider and caught fire near the 2 Freeway, said Officer Ed Jacobs of the California Highway Patrol. No injuries were reported in the accident. Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions as a result of the freeway closure. All lanes in both directions are expected to be closed for hours, Jacobs said.