The new Metro Gold Line extension in San Gabriel Valley resumed operations Monday morning after a fiery big rig crash on the 210 Freeway forced a shutdown a day earlier.
Crews repaired damage in time for the first Monday morning commute of an 11.5-mile extension extending through Arcadia, Irwindale, Monrovia, Duarte and Azusa, Metro officials said.
The crash occurred when the driver of a tractor trailer traveling west on the 210 Freeway near San Gabriel Boulevard lost control at about 3 a.m. Sunday and slammed into a center guard rail, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver was hospitalized, but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Debris from the crash landed on nearby tracks, and officials suspended service between the Allen and Arcadia station on the first full day of the eastern extension of the Gold Line. Shuttles were used to get Metro riders around the closure, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said.
The crash damaged the wires that power the trains, said Lt. J. Wargo of Sheriff's Transit Services. Operations resumed about 24 hours after the crash.
Just one day before the crash and closure, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held less than a mile away for the expansion at the Duarte/City of Hope station.
"We had a very good Saturday, a challenging Sunday but we're ready to go on Monday," Sotero said.
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The Foothill extension of the Gold Line, which began service on Saturday, brings the route to 31 miles overall, connecting the San Gabriel Valley with downtown and East Los Angeles.
The $1 billion extension includes six new rail stations, providing access to locations such as City of Hope hospital, Azusa Pacific University, Citrus College and Santa Anita Racetrack.
Sotero said the opening of the line will push the overall Metro rail system to 98.5 miles. The system will cross the 100-mile mark on May 20, when the Expo Line is extended 6.6 miles from Culver City to Santa Monica.
City News Service contributed to this report.
