I-5 Freeway At L.A. Grapevine Still Closed After Night From Wintery Hell

By Simone Wilson Mon., Jan. 3 2011 at 8:45 AM

Bakersfield Now

Not a good start for weather in 2011

Update: The CHP has reopened the 5 in both directions, but beware: The drive is still pretty slow-going. Hang in there, guys.

What a depressing way to start a brand-new year of the infamous Los Angeles commute.

All those holiday stragglers who waited until Sunday night to drive home -- hoping to avoid the mass SoCal exodus/influx, not realizing it was really this zany weather they should be worrying about -- got an unpleasant surprise upon nearing the Grapevine.

Just after midnight this morning, gusts of low-lying snow and icy pavement prompted California Highway Patrol officers to block off all lanes of the I-5 freeway between Castaic southbound and the Kern County Line heading north.

And drivers will be camped out in their cars for a few more hours yet:

KNX news radio is reporting that weather conditions haven't even begun to improve on the mountain overpass; CHP officers will stand their ground as the sky unleashes more snow as low as 1,500 feet and Caltrans workers do their best to de-ice the roadway.

A long line of cars and trucks can be seen branching out in every direction from I-5 on-ramps near the closure.

The extreme rain, snow and coldness should wear off by this afternoon or evening, but that's not soon enough for thousands of frustrated commuters. KNX reporters talked to a family returning home from winter break who's been there 13 hours; businesspeople on the way to work and truckers on a tight schedule are likewise getting antsy, to say the least.

"A lot of us truckers are on deadline .... so it's going to throw it all out of whack," one says.

Possible detours include the 14 -- which is still windy and slippery, so beware -- and the 101, a way longer drive but much safer.

A couple stuck-civilian Tweets from the wee hours:

Twitter

Remember guys: When all else fails, blame the "Transportation Department."

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Tags:

California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, freeway, freeway closure, freezing, I-5, road closures, snow, the 5, weather damage

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Serega

This was sure a surprise. We were driving from Missionary Trip from Mexico and got stuck in LA overnight until they open the road on Monday morning.

Xiuli Lin

http://tinyurl.com/25dnfq5

Xiuli Lin

http://tinyurl.com/25dnfq5

Wnautilus

From 5-24 mile per hour to get to LA from 58 east and then 14 south it took 6 hours man(last night), the most expensive and rich state but the government is not prepared for a bit of snow, this is just ridiculous.and the the cops slowing every one to 40 mil/h on dry road so no one go crazy and kill him self. California i must say, what happen to you??????

Sbrooks

I hit the northside of the Grapevine at 12:45 yesterday, 15 minutes AFTER they closed it!! Snow was blasting in at us before we even hit the weigh station on the flats before even driving up the hill. We didn't even hesitate to make the long treck west to the 101 to stay clear of any snow and make sure we made it through. It was a long drive, but no snow.