Highway 99 ramp reopens in south Sacramento after authorities investigate suspicious item

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A south Sacramento freeway offramp reopened Tuesday morning after authorities shut down the exit for about an hour to investigate a suspicious item found near the roadway.

Several vehicles from the California Highway Patrol and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office crowded the freeway’s northbound offramp to 47th Avenue just after 9 a.m. to determine if the object was an explosive.

CHP South Sacramento spokesman Officer Mark Leavitt said investigators were still working to determine the origin of the device, which was safely removed. It was unclear if the item contained bomb material, he said.

“We treated it as it was, tests will determine if it was,” Leavitt said.

By 10 a.m., the CHP said the offramp had reopened.