Heavy flooding from El Niño rains shut down multiple lanes of the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley this afternoon making travel treacherous.
Shortly after noon on Wednesday, all lanes except for the north and southbound HOV lane of the 5 were completely flooded near Sheldon Street and Lankershim Boulevard in Sun Valley, reports KTLA. California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert around 1 p.m., at which point around 3 to 4 feet of water had flooded the number 4 and 5 lanes of the southbound side, and roughly 4 feet was covering the number 3 and 4 lanes on the northbound side. The on- and off-ramps at Sheldon were also covered in about 3 feet of water and had to be closed.
As a result, drivers were forced to very slowly navigate the waters of the two remaining lanes, trying to avoid getting stuck in the standing floodwater.
Update: All lanes on the 5 Freeway near Sheldon Street and Lankershim Boulevard in Sun Valley have been been reopened after they were closed due to flooding, according to Caltrans. Christina Pascucci sent us this video from the scene a short time after CHP issued a SigAlert. Read KTLA's story here: http://on.ktla.com/CS3qA
Posted by KTLA 5 News on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Whoa.
Seriously, it's like the Jungle Cruise out there:
And the bird's-eye-view:
Caltrans crews worked to unclog drains along the side of the road and clear the water. According to CHP, the flooding occurred because so much rain fell in a short amount of time and debris clogged the drains.
By 3 p.m., the number 1 lane (next to the HOV lane) was reopened, according to Caltrans and the rest of the lanes were reopened shortly after that.
Be safe out there!
