What happened to the 10 Freeway? Questions about repairs, Caltrans linger

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 22. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

Traffic is back on the 10 Freeway, but many open questions remain

First it was months, then it was three to five weeks. But in the end, Los Angeles’ much-used 10 Freeway was back in business eight days after a suspected arson fire damaged an underpass of the key traffic corridor.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent the week behind podiums emblazoned with “Fix the 10,” said the return of car traffic to the freeway was “about government getting things done.”

But it might be more apt to say this was about government fixing something that government was expected to prevent in the first place.

As Times reporters uncovered, Caltrans, the agency that manages the state’s freeway system, was long aware of safety issues on the land it leased to Apex Development. My colleagues Rachel Uranga, Matt Hamilton and Ruben Vives learned more about that lease, which Caltrans began renting to Apex and its owner, Ahmad Anthony Nowaid, in 2008.

“Under Apex’s lease agreement, the property could be used only for parking operable vehicles and ‘open storage’; other uses required the approval of Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration, something the company does not appear to have secured,” they reported last week. “Apex was also not allowed the storage of inoperable vehicles, flammable materials or other hazards.”

Nowaid subleased parts of the 48,000-square-foot parcel to nearly a dozen businesses. And according to state documents, Apex was made aware of lease violations and the safety hazards they posed. But it never addressed them.

Recently released Caltrans documents show the agency knew about the piles of wooden pallets and combustible liquids stored close together under the 10 for at least three years before last Saturday’s fire.

“Evict tenant and start over,” the inspector wrote after an August 2022 visit.

It took a year for Caltrans to issue a three-day eviction notice, but Apex didn’t leave. The agency followed that with a lawsuit against Nowaid, his firm and his subtenants in mid-September this year.

Who’s to blame? Depends who you ask

The state points the finger squarely at Apex for allowing hazardous conditions on the leased site.

An attorney for Apex accused state and city leaders of using the firm as a scapegoat “to excuse their own failures to adequately address the public safety issues caused by the unhoused.” He said Apex had reported fires started by people living in encampments on the perimeter of the lot, but that L.A. police and fire personnel had been dismissive of their concerns.

Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass have said there is no reason to assume that people living in tents under or near the freeway camp were responsible for the fire in question, which is currently under investigation as arson.

But according to a Caltrans engineer who spoke with The Times, Caltrans has known about this and similarly hazardous situations under its freeways “for a long time.”

“They have permitted lessees to store flammable stuff underneath these freeways for decades,” the engineer told reporters last week. “They’ve had a couple of fires in the last three years that have affected columns, but inspectors can’t completely get underneath the bridge to make a thorough inspection because of all the junk.”

What exactly is being repaired and how long will it take?

That’s unclear right now. Caltrans has not released any information about the timeline for repair work and declined to speak with the Times about the project.

Much of the work is happening under the freeway and officials said that incremental closures may happen as the repair project continues. Temporary shoring is in place to bear the weight of car and truck traffic.

On Monday, city traffic data and commuters pointed to congestion as a sign of a return to normalcy on the freeway and surrounding streets.

Of course, normal in Los Angeles means being among the worst U.S. metro areas for traffic congestion and leading the nation in hazardous smoggy air. Whatever happens with the 10, that won’t be changing anytime soon.

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Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Mel Melcon in Idyllwild, a small mountain community where a golden retriever is the mayor.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
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