A sudden sinkhole on Glendale’s Western Avenue overpass led to an alarming cascade of concrete debris onto the bustling Golden State (5) Freeway this past Saturday evening. The unexpected incident prompted officials to close both the overpass and affected freeway lanes, causing significant disruptions to the flow of traffic.
At 5:34 p.m., the California Highway Patrol (CHP) received reports of the disintegrating overpass. Glendale police officers were promptly on the scene, witnessing the unsettling sight of concrete “actively falling” from a one-foot-by-one-foot hole situated in the center of the overpass. By 6:10 p.m., the hole had seemingly doubled in size, now measuring two-feet-by-two-feet.
In response to the rapidly evolving situation, the CHP issued a SigAlert at 6:08 p.m., effectively closing all southbound lanes and rerouting traffic onto Western Avenue. Meanwhile, Glendale police took further action, shutting down both eastbound and westbound lanes of Western between Flower and Lake streets.
Officials worked diligently to mitigate the disruption, and by 7:30 p.m., the Western Avenue on-ramp to the southbound Golden State Freeway was reopened. Less than 20 minutes later, the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) and fast lanes were also made accessible to motorists. However, the Western off-ramp and lanes 2, 3, and 4 remained closed.
Fortunately, amidst the chaos, there were no immediate reports of vehicle damage or injuries resulting from the rain of concrete debris.
