Lanes Reopen After Large Hole Closed I-5 Section
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2009 | Updated 12:40 PM PDT
Steve Luke
Traffic heading north on I-5 is in gridlock in Carlsbad.
A 7-foot long hole closed two lanes on northbound Interstate 5 near Oceanside Boulevard Tuesday. All lanes northbound on I-5 were reopened as of 12:13 p.m. according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers stopped traffic heading north just after 8 a.m. according the CHP incident site. Several pieces of concrete fell on Oceanside Boulevard, though no damages to vehicles or injuries to motorists were reported, according to the North County Times.
The hole forced closure of two lanes and the offramp to Oceanside Boulevard, officers said. Cones and barricades were set up to direct traffic.
A Caltrans official said shortly before noon that workers at the scene hoped to patch the hole with quick-drying concrete and have the road reopened by the evening commute.
Traffic on I-5 was backed up all the way to the Tamarack Avenue exit in Carlsbad as of noon, and drivers are now facing lengthy delays getting through the construction.
Drivers on state Route 78 west at El Camino Real were alerted to the long delay by a Caltrans sign.
