I-580 in Livermore reopen after massive pothole repair

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- California Highway Patrol officials says the two right lanes of westbound Interstate Highway 580 near Livermore were closed until 10:45 p.m. Wednesday night because a large pothole developed in the highway.

CHP officials reported the closure at 5 a.m. east of Greenville Road.

Caltrans spokesman Marcus Wagner said the pothole resulted from the rain and the old age of the roadway.

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Crews started repairing the 4-by-12-foot pothole Wednesday morning and expected to have it repaired by initially by 4 p.m.

Another Caltrans spokesperson, Bob Haus, says several factors caused the pothole to open up. "Potholes always crop up when you have weather like this. We've had a lot of rain for a long time. And also on 580, the pavement hasn't been in good shape in a while because that's a major east-west route.

Though no on was injured, the pothole damaged more than a dozen cars.

Ray Louie hit the pothole at 60 miles per hour and it immediately sidelined him. "It was bad, it was a big bump. Luckily, I didn't lose control of my car," said Louie.

He wasn't alone. CHP officers say at least 15 other cars sat disabled on the shoulder of 580 - all suffering flat tires from the monster pothole.

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Demand was so high for tow trucks, that Louie had to wait more than five hours for one.

"Just a little frustrated, but that's part of driving," said Louie.

RELATED: Potholes repairs cause traffic mess in Livermore on I-580

While he sat and waited for help, thousands of others sat in traffic, backed up for hours and two lanes were closed.

"I was more than stressed out. I had anxiety you know, fear of missing my flight, which it already did happen. And I needed to use the restroom. Just a lot of different things," said Terrance Carter, who lives in Paso Robles.

One man says his 18 mile long trip took three times longer than usual.

"From Tracy to right here, it took 3 hours. Oh yeah, it was bad traffic," he said.

"You are stuck in traffic, you can't move. You can't get anywhere I should have started at 6:30 and here it is already after 8:00," said one driver.

Caltrans says 580 takes a beating from the 20,000 vehicles that use it everyday and all the rain is causing the already weakened road to just crumble.

Crews did take advantage of last week's dry weather and did some repair work.

This is in the same area where emergency pothole repairs brought the commute to a standstill two weeks ago. Wagner also said Caltrans crews are in the process of repaving Highway 580 from the Greenville Road exit to the Alameda County line with San Joaquin County.