San Diego elected officials are demanding clearer procedures and better communication after three major shutdowns on Interstate 5 over the past two months left drivers stranded for hours with little information. Leaders say the repeated closures — including an eight-hour shutdown on Dec. 5 — put public safety at risk and reveal gaps in how agencies coordinate during emergencies.
San Diego police said they coordinated with other agencies to help de-escalate a mental health crisis during the 5 incident, and that they sent updates via signage, news media and social media during the unfolding event. The department said the time of day and the location made it difficult to divert traffic, but they plan to review the shutdown and look for ways to improve their response.
California Sen. Catherine Blakespear led a news conference Tuesday with several other local officials, saying they want to know whether any protocol exists to prevent widespread gridlock when police activity or other incidents force freeway closures. Officials said they are not aware of any such plan.
San Diego City Council president Joe LaCava said officials need to understand if communication systems between local police and state agencies worked properly.
“Whether there, in fact, is that structure in place and it just didn’t work that evening because you’re talking about police on city streets, and you’re also talking about state agencies on the freeways,” LaCava said.
Blakespear said the lack of real-time information created significant problems for drivers.
“Local streets choked by congestion due to traffic spillover, and there was little real-time information for the public about what was happening on the freeway and the surrounding roads,” Blakespear said.
Caltrans and the CHP were invited to the news conference but did not attend.
“They are our partners, and we need to work together,” Blakespear said. “So I expect that they will be part of the conversation, but we are not sure why they’re not at the press conference.”
The recent closures also include a November closure following a police pursuit near Camp Pendleton and, in October, traffic was stopped in both directions for a Marine live-fire demonstration attended by Vice-President JD Vance.
Assemblywoman Laurie Davies said the region’s geography makes alternative routes nearly impossible.
“Let’s be frank: You have an ocean on one side and you have Camp Pendleton on the other side, so there is no alternate route if there’s an accident or if the freeway is shut down,” Davies said.
Officials said the lack of communication during these events shows the need for clearer policies and a defined public notification process.
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