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Sorry, Drivers: 60 Freeway Likely Closed Until Saturday
Work to bring down the Paramount Boulevard bridge, damaged in a tanker truck fire, will continue into the weekend, say Cal Trans officials, scrapping earlier plans to get the busy section of the 60 Freeway in Montebello open on Friday.
What's holding them up is the discovery Thursday of hazardous materials and a fiber optic line inside the bridge, which was constructed over four decades ago. The fiber optic line belongs to AT&T, and to sever the line would mean cutting off phone service to local customers.
Caution is the name of the game for this tricky project. "This is an old bridge that was built in the 60s. So kinda like an old house, you come across thing that could be hazardous. We’re not sure what it is, but we are going to treat it like it is hazardous material," said Patrick Chandler of Cal Trans, according to CBS2.
The California Highway Patrol announced at 10:32 p.m. Thursday the "demolition of the bridge will continue into the weekend,'' reports City News Service.
The following closures are in effect:
- Eastbound Pomona Freeway from the Long Beach (710) Freeway to Paramount Boulevard
- Westbound Pomona Freeway from Rosemead Boulevard to Wilcox Avenue.
When it comes to when the 60 would re-open, Chandler offered that "Saturday could be
the day."
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