New Damage Discovered On Napa Roadway After Tuesday Morning's Aftershocks Snarls Traffic
NAPA (KCBS) — A main traffic artery became gridlocked Tuesday afternoon due to newly discovered damage that may be due from Sunday's earthquake or its aftershocks.
New Damage Discovered On Napa Roadway After Tuesday Morning's Aftershocks Snarls Traffic
Southbound Highway 29, approaching the George Butler Bridge also known as the southern crossing leaving Napa, is experiencing a single lane closure that the California Highway Patrol doesn't expect to open until at least 6 p.m.
"There was some soil settlement in the approach to the bridge area and it was noticed that the vehicles were bouncing a little bit as they were approaching the bridge, and that had not been noticed during the earlier inspection so it possibly was a result of the aftershocks," Napa City spokesman Barry Martin said.
Martin said that Caltrans is making an inspection and will make repairs if necessary.
In the meantime, there are massive traffic delays. Drivers are being asked to use State Route 121 to SR 221 as an alternate route.
A series five aftershocks, one registering a preliminary magnitude 3.9, rattled Napa in between 5:30 and 7 a.m.
CHP Officer Daniel Hill said the bridge was not affected but that the crack in the road was very noticeable after the morning aftershocks.
The quakes came just over 48 hours after the initial 6.0 magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage to Napa and Vallejo, and injured over 200 people.
The US Geological Survey says the 3.9-magnitude quake struck at 5:33 a.m. about 7 miles south of the city of Napa.
Complete Quake Coverage: Get the latest on aftershocks, cleanup and repairs from the South Napa Earthquake.
