Commuter express buses free for rest of the year while LA repairs 10 Freeway

Traffic nightmare through 10 Freeway repairs

With the 10 Freeway being closed in downtown for at least three weeks, officials are attempting to mitigate what looks to be a traffic nightmare. To help alleviate traffic, express commuter buses will be free for the rest of the year.

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles officials are looking toward reconstructing the 10 Freeway after a massive fire over the weekend closed a portion of the freeway downtown. While California Gov. Gavin Newsom said repairs would take between three and five weeks, local officials are now working to mitigate the impact of traffic on local communities until the stretch of highway reopens.

To help incentivize commuters to utilize public transit during the closure, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation announced last night that all commuter express buses would be free for the rest of the year.

LA Mayor Karen Bass and other transportation officials have urged commuters to utilize public transportation since the beginning of the closure. Officials have also recommended working from home if at all possible to minimize the number of commuters on the road or on public transit.

Heavy traffic persists, 10 freeway closure

The latest updates on the 10 freeway closure and plans for mitigating traffic and delays.

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The main concern is congestion on surface streets in downtown LA. In a press conference Tuesday night, Bass urged "Angelenos, please stay on the freeways."

"It was very, very obvious that when people did not stay on the freeways, and decided to get on the surface streets, the surface streets looked like an absolute parking lot," Bass said. "…The other thing that was crystal clear is that if you are on Metro, you do not have to worry about this at all."

On Monday alone, LADOT reported a 15% increase in street traffic downtown, while on Tuesday the increase was just 1%.

Bass also said she had instructed Metro to increase the speeds of trains on routes near the closure.

Motorists can stay updated on the closure by visiting the website fixthe10.ca.gov. Officials said crews will install cameras in the area, so people can watch the repairs in real-time.