I-10 commuters struggle to find route to campus
By Alexander Franco, October 21, 2025
Both eastbound and westbound off-ramps of the I-10 freeway on Kellogg Drive closed on Oct. 7 and 8 at 9 a.m., as part of a cleanup procedure, according to the California Department of Transportation.
“The city of Pomona had filed a complaint to pull the weeds and clean up trash on the ramps as they said it was a fire hazard,” said Caltrans superintendent Roy Ortega, who was onsite at the closure.
According to Ortega, Caltrans organized the cleanup, closing the ramps until 3-4 p.m. Oct. 8, but there weren’t any signs on the freeway about the ramp closures that morning.
Usually, if a conventional highway, on-ramp, off-ramp, or mainline of a freeway are closed, Caltrans reports it on its database website or mobile app, Caltrans QuickMap, which holds records of any closures in the past week.
The Caltrans database lists all of California’s 10 districts, with the ability to custom search routes, a specific date frame, what type of closure, the current status of a closure, the time period of the closure, the type of facility as in a mainline, on or off ramp and if the status of the closure was ever changed.
Both the website and the app display an interactive map of all of California, with the ability to customize it to a user’s needs, showing any freeway in California in any specific area.
Students were late to classes and jobs, with multiple students expressing their anger, frustration, and personal experiences over social media.
“That day was super stressful,” civil engineering student Grant McNeley said. “I was already running late to my class. My phone said (the exits) were open, and I was going to be only six minutes late, but I was actually 20 minutes late.”
Multiple students on Reddit expressed their frustration with the sudden close, as many complained to either Cal Poly Pomona or Caltrans about not giving a warning.
To make matters more complicated, East Campus Dr. also closed down, according to multiple users. This street is pivotal to students who use the on-ramp of I-10 heading east on South Campus Drive.
Cars were making U-turns right before the underpass of the I-10, as apps like Google, Apple Maps, Waze, and others labeled the exits as open, or opened with a construction warning, misleading students to think there would be no issue using the ramps.
“I use the 10 all the time, and I never have to use any apps because I have the route memorized after all these years,” kinesiology student Natalie Fernandez said. “It got to the point where I didn’t even know where I was because I never take that exit (Temple Ave.), so I had to use Maps.”
Caltrans did have this closure listed on its websites the day of these closures. Both ramps have since been reopened for use.
Feature image courtesy of Alex Franco