Jose Mier on the road once more. Over the last 3 months I’ve documented the changes that are occurring in Sun Valley, CA. Some are due to COVID-19. Others not so much.
As I reported earlier, traffic on our state highways had gone down by about fifty percent because we were all staying at home and there was no incentive to drive. We have begun to reopen now and because of that traffic levels seem to have returned to the levels they were at before March.
The I-5 runs right through Sun Valley I think it’s a good gauge of traffic levels throughout Los Angeles County. Since I had business in neighboring Burbank, the drive home to Sun Valley was a great opportunity to record traffic levels.
I started the drive by getting onto the 5 freeway at Alameda Ave. I then drove north on the 5, passing the no-long-extant Burbank Blvd bridge where construction is going on. In the included video you can see the huge hill of earth alongside the freeway at this point. It will be used for on- and off-ramp reconstruction as well as the new replacement bridge which will be completed in 2021.
I continued driving north to Buena Vista Street and got off the freeway there. During my quick drive I noted the traffic levels and they appeared the same as if we had never experienced our stay at home orders. The I-5 southbound lanes were even busier with auto than on my side. I drove at just about 1 pm so there really was no rush hour traffic to speak of.
If traffic amounts indicate economic activity then my conclusion is that California seems to be getting back to work. That or everyone is on the road to go on vacation. It is July, after all.
