The stretch of the 60 Freeway through the Badlands isn’t having the best week.
Wednesday, a fire broke out on a stretch of the highway that had the freeway completely shut down. The fire looks to have been started as a the result of a tractor that was clearing brush off the side of the freeway and burned about 25 acres, according to the Press Enterprise.
RIVCO: SR-60 closed in both direction from Gilman Springs Road to 10/60 Interchange due to brush fire. Unknown duration. #Caltrans8
— Caltrans District 8 (@Caltrans8) August 22, 2018
Friday, the stretch of the 60 Freeway was closed yet again, this time for a trailer in the middle of the road that was thought to be carrying pool chemicals.
Riv Co EB 60 at Gilman Springs all lanes closed truck incident possible hazmat. Pool chemicals. Unknown duration pic.twitter.com/dnMjOwnRkd
— Caltrans District 8 (@Caltrans8) August 24, 2018
It turns out, a Hazmat team was not needed and, after more than an hour, things reopened.
Not sure if these things happen in 3’s, but, if you can, you might want to avoid the 60 Freeway through the Badlands until it does.
Luckily, that stretch of highway has changes on the way – with a third lane planned in each direction that should ease traffic (and stop dirt bikers from jumping over the road) in a project that can’t be completed fast enough.
