"Major highway in California to shut down as US marines fire live artillery over it
Highway patrol announces last-minute, multihour closure due to military celebration including 155-mm artillery shells
A celebration marking the US marines' 250th anniversary will shut down a major freeway artery through southern California on Saturday as the military plans to fire live 155mm artillery shells over the site.
The California highway patrol announced the closure at 6am Saturday, saying it would shut down an approximately 17-mile (27km) stretch of Interstate 5 for four hours near Camp Pendleton, a 125,000-acre (50,585-hectare) base in Oceanside in north-western San Diego county. The closure will remain in effect from 11am to 3pm.
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The CHP said in a statement that the military event will involve "live ammunition being discharged by the federal government over the freeway" and made the call to temporarily close a portion of the freeway due to the safety risk and distractions to drivers.
Earlier in the week, California governor Gavin Newsom had decried the plans to fire live rounds over Interstate 5, calling it an "absurd show of force" and "totally uncalled for ".
On Saturday morning, Newsom was concerned that the stunt could put Californians in harm's way. "Flying live rounds over a busy highway without coordination between state, federal, and local partners isn't just wrong " it's dangerous," Newsom posted on social media."
www.theguardian.com
