A California program to lease land under freeways faces scrutiny after a major Los Angeles fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The area under an elevated Los Angeles freeway that burned last weekend was a kind of open-air warehouse with businesses storing everything from wood pallets to cardboard boxes to hand sanitizer on lots leased by the state through a little-known program that now is under scrutiny.
The blaze Saturday burned about 100 support columns, forcing the closure of a vital mile-long stretch of Interstate 10 near downtown that is used by hundreds of thousands of people daily. It could take crews working around the clock between three and five weeks to repair the freeway, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
Newsom said the state would reassess the practice of leasing land under roads to bring in money for mass transportation projects.
Details of that program remain opaque. Newsom’s office directed questions about whether the state has any regular inspection protocols to state transportation officials. The California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, did not respond to questions about inspections or provide information about how many properties the state leases.
https://apnews.com/article/freeway-fire-los-angeles-interstate-10-newsom-3ab9682a866c4e60b80b2d5d185847ac
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