L.A. traffic since 10 Freeway closed is ‘manageable’ with pockets of ‘absolute parking lot’

Despite fears of a carmageddon, the closure of a major Los Angeles freeway has so far not resulted in the traffic apocalypse some feared. On Monday, the first weekday commuters got on the road since the 10 Freeway was closed through downtown L.A. due to a massive fire, traffic engineers got their first glimpse of the challenges city officials and drivers will be facing until the section of the freeway is reopened. “The morning commute, while congested, did not result in gridlocked streets,” said Laura Rubio-Cornejo, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation during a morning news conference Tuesday. Although the evening commute did get a “higher degree” of congestion in the streets being used to reroute traffic away from the 10, Rubio-Cornejo said traffic engineers were able to adjust traffic light patterns on surface streets to mitigate the impact. “And I have all the confidence in the world of men and women you see behind me and the pace of their repairs already underway.” California Department of Transportation engineers met with senior management Monday to provide an assessment of the damage and possible timelines for getting traffic moving again on the mile-long section of the 10 between Alameda Street and the East L.A interchange.