Freeway

This post has been updated. A 37-year-old Los Angeles man was killed Friday morning when he lost control of his Chevy Suburban, crashed into a center divider and overturned on the Ventura (134) Freeway in Glendale, snarling the morning commute for hours, officials said. Glendale Fire Department paramedics pronounced the man, whose name wasn't immediately available, dead at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man was connecting to the westbound 134 Freeway from the southbound Glendale (2)

One person was killed in a multiple-vehicle crash Friday morning on the westbound Ventura (134) Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash, reported just after 7 a.m., was expected to snarl traffic for several hours with at least two HOV and two left lanes remaining blocked for the morning commute. A Sigalert was in effect indefinitely as emergency crews worked to clear the scene. It was unknown if other people were injured in the crash, and no information was immediately available on the fatality.

Those in support of closing the 710 Freeway gap must not travel the 210 very often because this freeway has its share of daily bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly during weekday mornings eastbound. This is without the heavy truck traffic that would instantly materialize with the gap's closure. Also, the 5 Freeway is a heavily industrial corridor that favors heavy truck traffic; the La Crescenta, La Cañada and Pasadena environs are decidedly not. Any cursory view of a map will show that the triangle created by the 5, 210, and 710 freeways gives the shortest, most direct route to and from Long Beach to the 5. Closing the gap simply adds more miles and time on the road for trucks whose cost efficiency would be negatively affected; and, we all know who pays for shipping costs.

Officials are tracking a bear that is wandering in the Montrose area after crossing the 210 Freeway and shutting down traffic for 10 minutes. The bear was first sighted in the neighborhood about 7:30 a.m., according to officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The bear climbed onto the freeway about 8:30 a.m., prompting the California Highway Patrol to temporarily close the highway. The bear later entered a residential area and drank from a sprinkler, according to CHP logs.  "He's just been wandering around for a while," Lt. Angela Shepherd said.  At least one helicopter, several sheriff's deputies, a canine unit as well as wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game have been deployed to tranquilize the bear and return it to the forest.

The bear that wandered over the 210 Freeway and into Montrose early Sunday morning has been tranquilized and is being taken back into the Angeles National Forest. The bear was sedated around 10:30 a.m. after it had been seen in the area of Florencita Lane and Montrose Drive. It had already been loaded into the back of a truck by 11 a.m. Officials were unsure if it was male or female. It did not harm any humans or damage any property. The animal was first sighted around 7:30 a.m., according to officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Although I agree with Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada) that a tunnel for the 710 extension is wrong (“ Caltrans can't be trusted with the 710 ,” Sept. 1) I have to differ with his letter about the 710 extension being built. The extension would solve a transportation problem by lessening traffic on the Golden State (5) Freeway between the Glendale (2) and San Bernardino (10) freeways, and easing traffic on the Foothill (210) Freeway on the western edge of Pasadena.

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 from three agencies got the upper hand Tuesday on a one-acre brush fire in La Crescenta that closed two lanes of the 210 Freeway, authorities said. The fire, first reported at 12:55 p.m., burned roughly an acre next to the westbound lanes of the freeway before it was knocked down at 1:47 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Quvondo Johnson. Firefighters from the Glendale, Los Angeles and Los Angeles County responded to the blaze, which  burned terrain east of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Firefighters put out a roughly 1-acre blaze that blackened trees and brush on the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway, east of Pennsylvania Avenue, officials said. Witnesses reported smoke and fire about 12:55 p.m., prompting Los Angeles County Fire Department officials to move into a full-brush assignment, Inspector Quvondo Johnson said. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze from spreading and it was knocked down at 1:47 p.m. “We do train for this,” Johnson said. “It's that time of year and because of the weather we are on high alert.” California Highway Patrol officers shut down the two right lanes of the freeway and the Pennsylvania off ramp as crews fought the blaze.