From Roads to Skies, a Jumbo Traffic Snarl

Traffic throughout the Los Angeles area was hampered Thursday after earthquake damage to the 605 Freeway and Santa Ana Freeway interchange created a jumbo traffic snarl, roads in the San Gabriel Mountains were closed by slides, the Pomona Freeway was closed near Pomona by buckling and Burbank Airport delayed flights after the control tower was damaged.

Amtrak and freight train operators reported delays in arrivals and departures of two or more hours while crews surveyed their tracks, but no damage was found.

In Malibu, rocks showered down on rush-hour traffic along the Pacific Coast Highway near Big Rock Drive but no accidents were reported, the California Highway Patrol said.

Major Gridlock

A huge traffic tie-up gridlocked much of Downey and Santa Fe Springs after officials closed more than 15 miles of the Santa Ana Freeway between the Artesia Freeway and the Long Beach Freeway, and more than 10 miles of the 605 Freeway between the Artesia Freeway and the Pomona Freeway because of damage to the 605 Freeway overpass.

“We have got major, major gridlock on the streets near the 605 and I-5 intersection in Downey and Santa Fe Springs, and we are asking people to stay out of those areas,” said CHP Officer Howard Powell.

The quake shook large chunks of concrete loose from the overpass, which passes over the Santa Ana Freeway, and Caltrans found significant structural damage. Engineers feared that an aftershock “could cause the structure to collapse,” a Caltrans spokesman said.

At Least a Day

Doug Finch, an overpass maintenance worker, said the fallen concrete left gaps in support columns up to two feet wide and exposed steel reinforcing bars.

Caltrans said the closure would be in effect for 24 to 72 hours while engineers install temporary supports beneath the 605 Freeway overpass. Officials said about 350,000 vehicles pass through the busy interchange daily.

Throughout the area, traffic backed up on major throughways as crews attempted to reroute thousands of motorists.

Near the Corona Freeway, the westbound lanes of the Pomona Freeway were closed after the pavement buckled, according to CHP Officer Mike Maas. He said westbound traffic was being rerouted onto surface streets, and it was not known when the lanes would be reopened.

By contrast, the CHP said downtown Los Angeles looked like “a Sunday afternoon” after several major employers sent their workers home while crews examined possible structural damage to elevator shafts in office towers.

“A lot of those big companies just closed up today and went home,” one CHP officer said.

Boulders, Dirt Slides

Meanwhile, the Angeles Crest Highway just outside La Canada Flintridge was closed for several hours after more than a dozen slides sent boulders and dirt across the mountain road.

Paul Wilt of Arcadia, a U.S. Forest Service volunteer who made his way to the Chilao Visitor Center after the quake, said the worst slide “covered the highway with one-foot boulders,” leaving just enough room on the shoulder for his small truck to pass.

Joe Thibodeau, a spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, said vehicles rerouted from the 605 Freeway were creating heavy traffic on the Long Beach Freeway, hampering movement of container trucks bound downtown from the harbor area.

“We are having a real problem with that truck link between the port and the rail loading area, which is near downtown,” Thibodeau said. However, all the railroad companies expressed relief that no tracks were buckled by the quake.

‘Knock on Wood’

Southern Pacific Railroad spokesman Jim Loveland said: “Knock on wood or do something, we had no problems and no damage. Our main line is up and going again after a delay of a couple hours to assess damage.”

Air traffic was moving well at airports other than the Burbank Airport, where large glass panes shattered in the controllers tower.

Dave Marino, the airport’s air traffic manager, said, “Equipment was falling over and some of our guys were kind of staggering around, but they kept right on talking--real professionals.”

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, Russell Park, said the tower was evacuated for more than an hour. Radio crews stationed in cars and trucks on the ground helped direct aircraft.

The airport allowed no landings or takeoffs for about half an hour, and airplanes were asked to reduce their speeds to delay their arrivals. Airport officials had not yet received reports on whether any inbound planes decided to land at other airfields.