By Karina Ioffee – Staff Writer
Hollister
– Sparking power lines shut down both lanes of Highway 101 near
Betabel Road Sunday night, causing delays and leaving at least 500
San Benito residents temporarily without power.
By Karina Ioffee – Staff Writer
Hollister – Sparking power lines shut down both lanes of Highway 101 near Betabel Road Sunday night, causing delays and leaving at least 500 San Benito residents temporarily without power. The freeway closure was a security measure to prevent the serious risk the falling sparks posed to the freeway below, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Ramirez.
Southbound traffic was diverted to Highway 25 while northbound traffic was sent to Highway 156, creating a delay of about 20 minutes, said Ramirez. CHP had no numbers on how many cars were affected by the accident nor how many cars were diverted.
The accident was caused by a failed connector – the piece that connects wires to utility poles – and was quickly fixed by PG&E, which responded to the scene along with a team of firefighters from the California Department of Forestry.
The accident happened about 5pm and the flow of traffic was restored by 7pm.
