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The northbound Interstate 5 freeway near Dodger Stadium, and half the southbound lanes plus the connectors to the 2 Freeway, will likely be closed for Monday's morning commute. That's because of possible structural damage to the freeway by Saturday's fire from a gasoline tanker crash. This is in the stretch of I-5 near Frogtown. The tanker overturned in the tunnel connecting the 2 to the southbound 5 and spilled its lost. The ensuing fire weakened the support for the freeway above. Apparently, the flaming fuel also flowed through drains into the Los Angeles River and interrupted Saturday play for bikers and kayakers.
It reminds me somewhat eerily that when I lived above Riverside Drive in that area a long time ago, the freeway's white noise and black granular soot were an ever-present reality. One night I recall being wakened by the strangest sound — silence. The freeway was closed in the middle of a night by a tanker fire, near the Hyperion bridge if remember it all correctly.
With the freeway essentially closed, and home games at Dodger Stadium, the streets around Elysian Valley, Elysian Park and parts of Silver Lake, Atwater and Echo Park have been jammed. Authorities advise to plan accordingly for Monday.
Photo of the fire burning Saturday in the Los Angeles River by Anthea Cicchino Raymond on Facebook
