Community Corner

Northbound 2 Connector to 5 Freeway Reopening Friday

A fuel tanker crash shut down the 2-lane tunnel for half a year.

The connector from the northbound Glendale (2) to the northbound Golden State (5) freeway near Echo Park is expected to reopen Friday morning, six months after a massive tanker fire charred the tunnel.

Caltrans targeted Christmas for the $16.5 million project's completion date, but wrapping up a few weeks later is still pretty ambitious for a freeway project, said spokesman Patrick Chandler.

"When you have an emergency project ... there's ways to get funding and to get put on the top of the list because you need to get that structure back in the system for the public to use," he said.

In mid-July, a tanker lost control in the 300-foot, 2-lane tunnel connector crashed and caught fire, Los Angeles Fire Department officials told Patch last year. No one was injured.

Shortly after that, the multi-million dollar project began and entailed hydro-blasting water to remove the charred walls, new concrete, 200 new LED lights and a paint job, Chandler said.


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