U.S. funds to help repair California freeway

The U.S. Department of Transportation is making $2 million in quick release emergency funds immediately available to the California Department of Transportation for the Paramount Boulevard overpass set ablaze by a fuel tanker explosion on the 60 Freeway in the Los Angeles area.

SR 60, also known as the Pomona Freeway, is a vital route for trucks moving freight between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to distribution centers and warehouses in the Inland Empire east of the city.

The Paramount Boulevard overpass sustained extensive damage in the blaze on Dec. 14, and Caltrans already has completed partial demolition of the structure.