Big Rig Crash Causes Weeks Of Gold Line Delays

PASADENA, CA — Repairs to the Metro Gold Line tracks in Pasadena where a big rig crashed onto the tracks should take about two weeks to complete and commuters should expect delays of 10 to 15 minutes until the repairs are complete, a Metro spokesman said.

The crash occurred at 1:55 a.m. Thursday, causing no apparent damage to the track's overhead lines, but it disrupted train service between the Allen and Sierra Madre Villa stations for close to nine hours, according to Metro's Brian Haas.

"While the semi did not damage the tracks or overhead power equipment, it did destroy a signal case, which helps regulate the speed and spacing of the trains," Haas said.

Repairs to that case were being done at night, Haas added.

Metro re-opened the Gold Line just before 11 a.m. Thursday, cancelling the bus bridge that had been running between the Lake and Sierra Madre stations, he said.

The semi was traveling westbound on the Foothill (210) Freeway when, for unknown reasons, it swerved and crashed through the center divider and blocked the tracks, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock