Chunk of Freeway Overpass Falls onto WB Hwy 91

A reader was driving westbound on the 91 freeway this evening when several chunks of concrete fell off an overpass at or near Mt. Vernon.  He looked up and noticed that a large piece was missing from the overpass and the right lane was littered with debris.  Several cars slowed to a crawl to navigate around the rocks.  As he drove through, no cars appeared to have been damaged by the falling concrete, but it was like a game of Asteroids. Disconcerting to say the least.  Anyone else know anything about this?

Caltrans Launches Review of Street Sweeping Policies

After the death of Christopher Laurie and other accidents, CalTrans has launched a review of street sweeping procedures and an internal review of the crash that killed Mr. Laurie.  According to a CalTrans spokesperson, accidents involving street sweepers are rare, with five of the 60 statewide crashes in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.  CalTrans also says that street sweeping teams operate at off-hours, such as 8 am to 9 am weekdays.  The teams need to work during the day because of poor visibility at night.  It is not known when the internal investigation of Mr. Laurie’s death will be complete.

Freeway Closures This Weekend: Screwed All The Way Around

At various times and points this weekend, the 60/91/215 freeways will be closed and traffic will be detoured near Central, Columbia and Downtown.   The closures will all begin very late, no earlier than 11:30, and last till 4:30 – 7:30 am.  Additional closures take place next week.   Read about the closures here and here and plan accordingly.

Sad News: Greg Laurie’s Son Killed on 91 Freeway in Corona

Christopher Laurie, son of local pastor Greg Laurie, was killed Thursday after hitting a CalTrans truck in the carpool lane of the 91 freeway near Serfas Club Drive.

Traffic, already heavy in that area at most times, was reportedly backed up for 14 miles.  Riverside resident Luetta P., passed through the area after the accident and reported seeing a crashed vehicle, with extensive damage to the driver’s side.  She did not know at the time that it was the son of Greg Laurie, long time pastor and inspiration of her son and granddaughter.  When she realized who it was this morning, she was devastated. “This is tragic, especially with a young child and another baby on the way.  My prayers go out to the family…”  Luetta is the prayer leader of a local church and without a doubt, Mr. Laurie’s family will be in everyone’s prayers tonight.

Freeway Closures: None

We just got back from Orange County and took the 91 back with no slowing or incidents.  It seemed so unreal that I checked the CHP traffic incident page and the Caltrans daily closure report for the area and there was absolutely nothing listed for this area tonight.  Wow.

What is the alternate route if the I-15 south of the Nevada border is closed?  Caltrans says:

IS CLOSED FROM 14.6 MI SOUTH TO 12.4 MI SOUTH OF THE NEVADA STATE LINE
(SAN BERNARDINO CO) FROM 0800 HRS TO 1000 HRS TUESDAY THRU WEDNESDAY THRU
7/2/08 – DUE TO BLASTING – MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE

Sigalert.com has a new beta site available to test.  It looks better than the current site, but the PE linked beta version has Moreno Valley and the regular beta version has Morena Valley.

I don’t know why, but I am compelled to check traffic whenever I hop on the freeway, even if it is just to go a few miles.  Aside from having a regular GPS unit in my car, Google Maps Mobile is the way to go.  Especially on a Blackberry.

91 Freeway Closure: A Change In Plans

Plans to close the 91 at Green River over the weekend have been canceled. Instead of the complete closure over the weekend, Caltrans is going to close some lanes during the week.  From PE.com:

From 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through March 7, three inside westbound lanes will be closed at Green River Road.

From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, two eastbound lanes will be closed at Green River.

Ugh, stay off the 91 altogether. What a mess.