Local Bridge Safety

Southern California has 91 of the 100 most heavily traveled bridges in the United States. Of the top ten, almost all are on Interstate 10 in Los Angeles. Investigative reporting by the Sacramento Bee has raised questions about the safety of bridges in California. In the aftermath, one safety inspector has been fired for falsifying records, including those for an underpass on the 405 freeway in Culver City. The story begins with the new, eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, which is still under construction. There are three structures in Southern California where data were falsified: a retaining wall at the Braddock Drive underpass of the 405 Freeway in Culver City; a carpool connector lane between the 57 and the Pomona Freeway near Diamond Bar; and a ramp on the Riverside Freeway at La Sierra Avenue in Riverside.