After the Grapevine being periodically closed due to snow throughout the last few days of the week, California Highway Patrol officials said the Grapevine was reopened Friday.
At around 11:15 a.m., California Highway Patrol Newhall office personnel began escorting the first few hundred cars through, according to Deputy Josh Greengard.
“We escorted about 500 cars through there just to get the pace going,” said Greengard. “And now it’s free-flowing. Obviously traffic is going to be a little bit heavy going through the area because people have been waiting so long to travel through on (Interstate 5).”
Over Thursday night, CHP officials said the roadway temperatures had dropped into the single digits, with the roadways freezing over with ice. Caltrans worked to thaw the ice in order to ensure driver safety on the roadways.
Greengard said that, earlier Friday afternoon, he had taken a ride through the Grapevine passage, saying that the traffic was moving at approximately 20 to 40 mph.
“I think the worst of it is over,” said Greengard. “It’s projected to snow and rain again on Monday, but that’s a few days away so we’ll take it when it comes.”
“We want to keep it open and make sure everyone is safe during their travels with the weekend coming up,” Greengard added.
The Grapevine had been closed since Wednesday after multiple stuck vehicles and heavy snowfall had shut down the heavily traveled stretch of freeway.
