A semi-truck loaded with large chunks of concrete overturned early Wednesday on one of the busiest freeway connections in downtown Los Angeles, spilling its load across the ramp and forcing a closure that reached into the morning commute, according to ABC7.
What happened
The crash was reported at about 2:20 a.m. on the transition lanes that carry traffic from the westbound 10 Freeway to the southbound 110. The truck tipped over and dumped the heavy concrete debris onto the roadway.
No injuries were reported. The cause had not been determined, and further details were not available early Wednesday.
What it means for the commute
The practical problem is the cargo. A spilled load of large concrete chunks is slow to clear, because each piece has to be removed rather than swept, and crews were still working the scene. The transition road was expected to remain closed until further notice, which on this particular ramp is not a minor inconvenience.
The 10-to-110 connector threads the center of the downtown freeway system, linking one of the region's main east-west arteries to the north-south spine that runs from San Pedro up past the civic center. Drivers heading from the Westside and West Adams toward South Los Angeles and the harbor use it heavily, and a closure there pushes traffic onto surface streets and neighboring ramps at exactly the hour the morning rush builds.
Anyone traveling through downtown Wednesday morning should expect the connector to be out and plan an alternate, either continuing on the 10 to another southbound route or using surface streets to reach the 110. The Herald will update the story when the California Highway Patrol reports the ramp reopened.
